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Photographic 

Sciences 
Corporation 


23  WEST  MAIN  STREET 

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CIHM/ICMH 

Microfiche 

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CIHM/ICMH 
Collection  de 
microfiches. 


Canadian  Institute  for  Historical  Microreproductiotis  Institut  cinadien  de  microreproductions  historiques 


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Technical  and  Bibliographic  Notes/Notes  techniques  et  bibliographiques 


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10X 


14X 


18X 


22X 


26X 


30X 


7 


12X 


16X 


20X 


24X 


28X 


32X 


tails 

du 
odifier 

une 
mage 


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et  de  haut  en  bas,  en  prenant  le  nombre 
d'images  ndcessaire.  Les  diagrammes  suivants 
iilustrent  la  m^thode. 


errata 
to 


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D 


32X 


1 

2 

3 

1 

2 

3 

4 

5 

6 

THE  JESUIT  RELATIONS 

AND 

ALLIED  DOCUMENTS 


VOL.  XXXV 


The  edition  consists  of  sej- 

en  hundred  and  fifty  sets 

all  numbered 

No.^AA../, 


H 


!^«<i^ 


TORTURE   OF   THE    JESUIT 


rw%        «  _ 


_^   _i_A„   I.-     r^J. 


■ ..    /-. j-..„  •„     \...   T?-.«  ..rt;,.^..^    r^t'ait^;  i«c-     C    T       tMiT-ilic^i^cl   y\\j  t1if»  Prnniniv:v 


I  OF  THE  Jesuit  Martyrs. 

Hshed  hv  the  Cranioisvs  at  Paris,  1664.     The  artist  has  grouped,  in  his  picture,  iucideuts  far  separated  in  time 


The  Jesuit  Relations  and  Allied  Documents 


Travels  and  Explorations 

OF  THE  Jesuit  Missionaries 

IN  New  France 

1610-1791 

THE  ORIGINAL  FRENCH,  LATIN,  AND  ITAL- 
IAN TEXTS.  WITH  ENGLISH  TRANSLA- 
TIONS AND  NOTES  ;  ILLUSTRATED  BY 
PORTr.ATTS,  MAPS,  AND  FACSIMILES 

EDITED  BY 

REUBEN  GOLD  TKWAITES 
Secretary  of  the  State  Historical  Society  of  Wisconsin 


Vol.  XXXV 
HURONS,  LOWER  Canada,  Algonkins:  1650 


CLEVELAND:    XLbC  3BucroW0  »COtbCr0 

Companst  publishers,  mdcccxcix 


F5  0S3 

•  5 

J,  IS 


162165 


^^<V 


Copyright,   1899 

BY 

The  Burrows  Brothers  Co 


ALL   RIGHTS   RESERVED 


TAe  Imperial  Press,  Cleveland 


EDITORIAL  STAFF 


Editor 


Translators  . 


Assistant  Editor 
Bibliographical  Adviser 


Reuben  Gold  Thwaites 
FiNLOW  Alexander 
Percy  Favor  Bicknell 
Crawford  Lindsay 
Wit  mam  Price 
Hiram  Allen  Sober 
Emma  Helen  Blair 
Victor  Hugo  Paltsits 


If 

I 

i 


CONTENTS  OF  VOL.  XXXV 


Preface  to  Volume  XXXV 

Documents: — 

LXXII.  Epistola  ad  R.  P.  Vincentium  Caraf- 
fam,  Prsepositum  Generalem  Socie- 
tatis  Jesu,  Romae.  Paulus  Rague- 
neau;  Sanctse  Marise  in  Insula  Sancti 
Joseph!  apud  Hurones,  March  13, 
1650   ..... 

LXXIII.  Journal  des  PP.  J6suites.  Hierosme 
Lalemant,  and  Paul  Ragueneau; 
Quebek,  January- December,     1650 

LXXIV.  Relation  de  ce  qvi  s'est  pass^  en  ...  . 
la  Nouuelle  France,  depuis  I'Efl^  de 
I'annee  1649.  jufques  ^  I'Eft^  de 
I'ann^e  1650.  [Chaps,  i.-xii.,  first 
installment  of  the  document.]  Paul 
Ragueneau;  Kebec,  September  i, 
1650  .... 

Bibliographical  Data:  Volume  XXXV 
Notes        ...... 


18 


30 


65 
285 

289, 


ILLUSTRATIONS  TO  VOL  XXXV 


I.  Torture  of  the  Jesuit  Martyrs;  reduced  fac- 
simile of  plate  in  Historia  Canadensis,  by 
Franciscus  Creuxius,  S.J.  .  Frontispiece 
II.  Facsimile  of  handwriting  of  Charles  Al- 
banel,  S.  J. ;  selected  from  entry  in  parish 
register  of  Notre  Dame,  Montreal,  dated 
January  9,  1650     .  .  •  Facing 

III.  Photographic  facsimile  of  title-page,  Rela- 

tion of  1649-50     .... 

IV.  Facsimile  of   handwriting  of   Barth^lemy 

Vimont,  S  J. ;  selected  from  his  account 

of  the  chapel  of  Sillery    .  .  Facing  2 iS 


54 


68 


f 

♦  o  « 


.«'.' 


PREFACE  TO  VOL.  XXXV 


Following  is  a  synopsis  of  the  documents  contained 
in  the  present  volume : 

LXXII.  This  is  a  letter  from  Ragueneau  to  the 
father  general,  dated  in  the  Huron  country,  March 
13,  1650,  In  it  is  depicted  in  vivid  colors  the  distress 
and  misery  into  which  the  Huron  nation  has  been 
plunged.  Since  the  last  Relation,  two  more  Jesuits 
have  fallen  at  their  posts, —  Charles  Garnier  and 
Noel  Chabanel.  The  little  Huron  church  is  scattered 
in  every  direction,  the  country  being  devastated  by 
war,  famine,  and  pestilence.  So  great  is  the  famine 
that  cannibalism  prevails,  and  corpses  are  dug  from 
the  graves  for  food.  In  the  midst  of  their  afflictions, 
the  people  seek  instruction  and  baptism  from  the 
missionaries,  as  never  before.  The  latter  —  "as 
good  shepherds,  following  their  flock  "  — have  aban- 
doned their  house  of  Ste.  Marie,  and  established  a 
new  residence  on  St.  Joseph  (now  Christian)  Island, 
that  they  may  minist,'r  to  the  Hurons  who  have  fled 
thither.  Here  they  make  a  fresh  clearing  in  the 
forest,  and  build  homes;  and,  besides,  construct 
fortifications  for  defense,  should  the  Iroquois  attack 
them.  Hardest  of  all  is  to  clear  the  ground  from 
stumps,  and  plant  it  with  seed.  They  have  brought 
supplies  of  food  and  live  stock  from  Ste.  Marie,  and 
have  aided  their  disciples  with  their  reserves  of 
Indian  corn.     Notwithstanding  their  hardships,  all 


o°      o  »• 


10 


PREFACE  TO  VOL.  XXXV 


connected  witla  the  mission  are  rea-'ly  to  lay  down 
their  lives  for  its  sake;  and  they  rejoice  in  their 
sufferings,  regarding  these  as  tokens  of  God's  favor. 

LXXIII.  The  Journal  des  Jhuites  continues  its 
record,  through  the  year  1650.  But  few  events  of 
importance  occur,  until  the  coming  of  summer.  In 
January,  a  cabin  for  the  savages  is  erected  at  the 
hospital,  by  the  French  carpenters;  but,  "upon 
occupying  it,  the  cabin  proved  to  be  useless,  on 
account  of  the  smoke."  The  moose-hunt  of  this 
winter  is  unusually  good. 

"  On  St.  Joseph's  eve,  there  was  a  very  cold  bon- 
fire —  that  is  to  say,  very  simple,  without  fireworks  or 
rockets."  In  consequence  of  the  governor's  illness, 
Lalemant  starts  the  fire,  "  but  with  great  lepug- 
nance."  Late  in  April,  the  Jesuits  decide  to  assign 
lands  at  Beauport  to  the  fugitive  Hurons;  also,  to 
erect,  at  their  own  expense,  a  new  building  for  their 
mission  at  Three  Rivers.  May  1 1 ,  the  Iroquois  make 
a  raid  upon  a  farm  close  to  Quebec,  and  kill  two 
men.  At  this  time,  the  Jesuits  exchange  their  land 
at  Three  Rivers  —  nearly  500  arpents  —  for  another 
tract  of  like  size,  that  the  former  may  be  turned  into 
common  lands;  this  is  done  under  constraint  from 
the  local  authorities.  Bressani  sets  out  for  the  Huron 
country,  on  June  7,  accompanying  a  large  trading- 
fleet  of  canoes.  A  week  later,  a  Huron  from  Three 
Rivers  comes  to  Quebec,  claiming  that  the  Iroquois 
have  sent  him  to  negotiate  a  peace  with  the  French. 
This  story  proving  false,  his  own  countrymen  con- 
demn him  to  death;  "he  was  accordingly  baptized 
on  the  20th,  and  named  Louys,  without  as  yet 
knowing  whether  he  were  to  live  or  to  die."  On  the 
following  day,  he  is  put  to  death  by  the  Hurons ;  and 


PREFACE  TO  VOL.  XXXV 


11 


charitable  French  women  bury  his  corpse.  About 
this  time,  the  Jesuit  superior  makes  the  visitation  at 
the  hospital;  but  he  "did  not  go  in,  or  see  the 
Accounts,  having  noticed  that  they  had  not  much 
inclination  for  this  " 

This  year,  Lalemant  excuses  himself  from  the  St. 
John's  bonfire, —  "not  judging  it  proper  to  encourage 
this  custom,  which  had  not  been  practiced  in  the  time 
of  M.  de  Montmagny "  (this  last  statement  being 
apparently  a  lapsus  memorice,  to  judge  by  the  record 
of  the  Journal  itself).  The  French  fleet  comes  earlier 
than  last  year;  the  letters  it  brings  are  conveyed 
from  Tadoussac  to  Quebec  by  a  Jesuit  and  a  habitant, 
arriving  at  the  latter  place  July  5 ;  the  first  ship 
reaches  Quebec  on  the  loth.  On  the  28th,  Ragueneau 
also  arrives,  v/ith  all  his  company.  In  August  occur 
more  Iroquois  raids,  several  Frenchmen  being  cap- 
tured or  killed  by  them.  Among  the  latter  is  Robert 
le  Coq,  a  Jesuit  donn^. 

On  the  returning  vessels,  this  autumn,  eight 
Fathers,  with  numerous  brethren  and  donnds,  are 
sent  back  to  France.  Among  these  are  Jerome 
Lalemant,  the  superior,  who  is  succeeded  at  Quebec 
by  Ragueneau;  the  latter,  therefore,  continues  the 
yitjwrw^/ after  October  22.  The  new  superior  seldom 
mentions  in  its  pages  a  church  service  or  proces- 
sion,—  unlike  Lalemant,  who  filled  most  of  the  Journal 
with  minutiae  of  all  ecclesiastical  affairs ;  Ragueneau 
notes,  as  a  rule,  only  matters  of  general  interest  in 
the  annals  of  the  colony. 

Several  prominent  habitants  go  down  to  Tadoussac, 
November  10,  to  engage  in  the  seal-fishery,  for  which 
they  have  secured  important  concessions.  The 
Jesuits'  new  church  is  consecrated  December  24,  and 


''  i 


12 


PREFACE  TO  VOL.  XXXV 


the  first  mass  is  said  therein,  although  the  building 
is  not  completed.  The  Ursuline  convent  is  burned 
to  the  ground  on  the  night  of  December  30,  and  the 
nuns  with  difficulty  .save  their  own  lives,  losing  all 
their  furniture  and  clothing ;  the  loss  is  estimated  at 
40,000  francs.  The  Ursulines  are  aided,  as  much  as 
possible,  by  the  Hospital  nuns  and  the  Jesuits ;  the 
latter  (including  even  the  brethren)  decide  to  deny 
themselves  their  desserts,  "  in  order  to  aid  there- 
with these  good  mothers,  who  have  more  need  than 
we  of  these  delicacies." 

LXXIV.  The  Relation  of  1649-50  is  entirely 
written  by  the  new  superior,  Ragueneau,  being  dated 
at  Quebec,  September  i,  1650 ;  it  is  supplemented  by 
two  letters, —  one,  penned  by  Jerome  Lalemant, 
apparently  soon  after  his  arrival  in  France,  in 
December  following,  and  addressed  to  the  provincial 
at  Paris ;  the  other  by  the  mother  superior  of  the 
Hospital  nuns,  addressed  to  "  Monsieur  N.,  a  citizen 
of  Paris,"  and  dated  at  Quebec,  September  29. 

In  the  Relation  proper  (of  which  we  here  give  the 
first  twelve  chapters),  a  short  prefatory  note  to  the 
provincial  announces  the  removal  of  the  Huron 
Christians  from  their  ruined  country  to  the  more 
sheltered  vicinity  of  the  French  settlements.  The 
Relation  proper  begins  with  the  removal  of  the 
mission  from  Ste.  Marie  to  St.  Joseph  Island.  The 
wretched  Hurons  having  fled  in  all  directions, —  into 
the  forests  or  the  rocky  islands  of  the  lake,  or  to  a 
refuge  among  the  Tobacco  and  Neutral  tribes, —  the 
Jesuits  see  that  they  can  no  longer  remain  at  their 
posts,  but  must  follow  their  flocks.  Accordingly, 
they  accede  to  the  request  made  by  their  disciples, 
that  they  will  accompany  the  latter  to  St.  Joseph, — 


PREFACE  TO  VOL.  XXXV 


18 


some  of  the  Fathers,  however,  being  sent  on  itinerant 
missions  to  remote  bands  of  savages.  The  departure 
from  their  old  home,  and  its  destruction  by  their 
own  hands,  lest  the  enemy  should  find  it  a  vantage- 
spot,  are  eloquently  and  pathetically  related.  At 
the  new  Ste.  Marie,  built  upon  the  island,  the 
Jesuits  are  obliged  to  fortify  both  their  house  and 
the  neighboring  village.  This  village  had  over  a 
hundred  cabins,  containing  more  than  six  thousand 
souls;  but  famine  and  pestilence  have  swept  away 
many  of  these.  During  the  entire  winter,  the  peo- 
ple not  only  suffer  these  horrors,  but  are  in  constant 
dread  of  a  threatened  attack  by  the  Iro  ^uois.  This 
accumulation  of  misfortunes,  howevei,  renders  the 
poor  Hurons  so  tractable  to  the  Faith  that  the  mis- 
sionaries accomplish  among  them  "  by  a  single  word, 
more  than  ever  before,  in  entire  years."  Another 
potent  influence  upon  them  is  the  charity  of  the 
Jesuits,  who  aid  the  starving  and  sick  people  to  the 
utmost  of  their  power ;  ' '  many  have  remained  alive 
only  through  the  assistance  which  we  rendered 
them."  It  is  interesting  to  note  the  method  em- 
ployed by  these  Fathers  in  aiding  the  poor  —  that  of 
personal  investigation,  the  essential  element  of  the 
best  modern  almsgiving;  and  the  foresight  which 
secured,  before  winter,  all  available  supplies  of  food 
within  their  reach.  The  writer  describes  the  occu- 
pations of  the  missionaries  during  the  winter, 
relieving  the  poor,  visiting  the  sick,  and  instructing 
all  in  religion. 

Ragueneau  describes,  at  length,  the  capture  and 
devastation  of  the  mission  villages  in  the  Tobacco 
tribe,  and  the  martyr  deaths  of  Garnier  and  Chaba- 
nel, —  the  former,  on  December  7,  1648;  the  latter, 


14 


PREFACE  TO  VOL.  XXXV 


about  two  days  later.  Then  follow  biographical 
sketches  of  these  two  Fathers,  with  eulogies  upon 
their  apostolic  labors  and  saintly  characters.  Chaba- 
nel's  missionary  life  presents  an  especially  pathetic 
aspect,  since  —  though  full  of  zeal  and  spiritual  aspi- 
ration—  he  could  not  learn  the  Indian  language; 
and,  moreover,  was  filled  with  disgust  and  aversion 
at  the  natives,  their  customs,  and  mode  of  life,  and 
at  the  hardships  imposed  by  his  duties  to  them. 
Yet  he  would  not  relinquish  these,  and  even  bound 
himself  by  a  vow,  to  "  remain  there  until  death, 
that  he  might  die  upon  the  Cross." 

Certain  infidels  in  the  mission  of  St.  Mathias, 
where  Chabanel  was  stationed,  had  during  his 
absence  formed  a  conspiracy  against  the  mission- 
aries, and  had  profaned  and  plundered  one  of  the 
Jesuit  chapels.  There  is  good  evidence  that  Chaba- 
nel was  murdered  by  an  apostate  Huron, —  probably 
as  a  result  of  that  conspiracy. 

Some  of  the  Huron  fugitives  have  made  a  new 
settlement,  on  the  shore  of  Lake  Huron,  and  a  mis- 
sionary is  sent  to  spend  the  winter  with  them ;  this 
constitutes  the  mission  of  St.  Charles.  Some  wel- 
come the  Father  gladly;  others  accuse  the  Faith 
of  bringing  ruin  upon  them.  These  last  "  must  be 
humiliated,  before  they  can  be  saved;"  this  is 
accomplished  by  famine,  the  fishery  being  this  year 
a  failure.  Thereupon,  "  they  flocked  to  him  like 
sheep,  and  entreated  for  Holy  Baptism."  At  the 
end  of  winter,  many  of  these  sufferers  betake  them- 
selves to  the  new  Jesuit  post  on  St.  Joseph  Island. 
Another  mission  is  carried  on,  among  the  Algonkin 
tribes  along  Lake  Huron, —  the  Fathers  sharing  the 
wretched  nomadic  life  of  those  people. 


PREFACE  TO  VOL.  XXXV 


15 


Ragueneau  describes  the  renewed  incursions  of 
the  Iroquois  in  the  spring  of  this  year  (1650),  which 
complete  the  ruin  of  the  wretched  Hurons.  Their 
country  is  thoroughly  devastated;  the  scattered 
bands  who  still  remain  are  ruthlessly  butchered  by 
an  enemy  "  more  cruel  than  cruelty  itself;  "  and 
despair  reigns  in  the  hearts  of  the  few  survivors. 
Many  of  those  who  had  taken  refuge  on  St.  Joseph 
Island  are  driven  by  hunger  to  the  mainland,  to 
search  for  food,  and  are  destroyed  by  the  Iroquoiv^". 
The  Christian  Indians  who  remain  on  the  island  see 
but  one  hope  for  their  lives ;  they  entreat  the  Jesuits 
to  convey  them  to  the  French  settlements  on  the  St. 
Lawrence,  and  there  form  a  Huron  colony  under 
French  protection.  This  proposal  is  accepted,  and 
the  remnant  of  the  tribe,  some  three  hundred  in 
number,  make  their  way  to  Quebec, —  always  in 
dangei,  while  on  this  fifty  days'  journey,  from 
ferocious  Iroquois  rangers.  Ragueneau  graphically 
portrays  the  devastation  which  these  enemies  have 
wrought,  not  only  in  Huronia,  but  along  Lake  Nipis- 
sing  and  the  Ottawa  River, —  reducing  a  populous 
region,  full  of  promise,  to  a  wilderness. 

At  last  (July  28)  this  sad  company  arrive  at  Que- 
bec. All  possible  aid  is  furnishtLl  to  them  there, 
but  this  new  charge  is  too  great  for  the  means  of  the 
little  colony,  and  much  suffering  occurs  among  the 
fugitives;  several  hundred  more  of  these  are  ex- 
pected before  long,  from  the  upper  country.  The 
Iroquois  are  now  constantly  harassing  the  French 
settlers,  wherever  they  can  find  them  away  from  the 
protection  of  the  forts;  and  it  is  desirable  that 
measures  be  at  once  taken  to  break  their  power. 

Some  Christian  Indians  from  Sillery,  and  some  of 


I 


16 


PREFACE  TO  VOL.  XXXV 


the  Hurons,  go  in  the  spring  to  attack  the  Iroquois ; 
but,  through  the  treachery  of  one  of  their  own  num- 
ber, suffer  a  severe  defeat.  Some  of  their  warriors 
are  burned  to  death  by  the  Iroquois,  but  they  suffer 
as  Christians,  even  to  the  latest  breath.  The  Sillery 
church  has  thus  suffered  greatly,  having  lost  many 
of  its  chief  native  Christians,  and  numerous  instances 
of  their  faith  are  recorded. 

This  year,  it  has  been  impossible  to  send  a  mis- 
sionary to  the  Attikamegues,  although  they  desire 
one ;  but  their  goodness  and  innocence  being  great, 
they  do  not  need  so  much  spiritual  support  as  do 
most  other  tribes. 

Then  follows  an  account  of  the  Holy  Cross  mission 
at  Tadoussac.  The  most  conspicuous  feature  in  this 
work  is  "  the  burning  zeal  manifested  by  the  Chris- 
tian Savages  and  their  Captains  for  the  extension 
of  Christ's  Kingdom,  and  the  banishment  of  vice 
from  their  Churches. '  *  Various  instances  of  this  are 
related,  especially  in  their  attempts  to  restrain 
drunkenness.  The  Tadoussac  Christians  invite  the 
people  of  neighboring  tribes  (of  whom  they  had 
formerly  been  jealous)  to  come  and  dwell  near  them, 
that  they  also  may  receive  Christian  instruction ; 
and  they  even  invite  the  missionaries  to  go  with 
them  upon  their  trading  expeditions  inland, —  upon 
which  they  had  hitherto  refused  to  take  any  French- 
men. Accordingly,  Druillettes  goes  to  a  distant  tribe 
(probably  one  which  De  Quen  had  visited  before), 
wherein  are  some  Christians,  whom  he  consoles  and 
instructs,  administering  to  them  the  sacraments. 

R.  G.  T. 

Madison,  Wis.,  November,  1898. 


4 


LXXII-LXXIII 

Miscellaneous  Documents,  1650 

LXXIL—  Epistola  P.  Pauli  Ragueneau  ad  R.  P.  Vincentium 
Caraffam,  Pra^positum  Generalem  Societatis 
Jesu ;  ex  Domo  Sancte  Mari«  in  Insula  Sancti 
Josephi  apud  Hurones,  13°  Martii  1650 

LXXIIL— Journal  des  PP.  Jesuites,  en  I'annee  1650 


SOURCES:  Doc.  LXXH.  is  from  Rochemonteix's  Jesuites 
et  la  Noiivelle-France,\.  ii.,  pp.  466-469.  Doc.  LXXIIL 
we  obtain  from  the  original  MS.  in  the  library  of  Laval 
University,  Quebec. 


fli 


18 


LES  RELATIONS  DES  jASUITES         [Vol.  86 


Epistola  p.  Pauli  Ragueneau  ad  R.  P.  Generalem 
Vincentium  Caraffam. 


NOSTERADMODUM  ReVERENDE  IN  CHRISTO  PaTER, 
Pax  Christi. 
Superiore  anno,  nihil  literariim  accepimus  ex 
Europa;  imo  ne  Quebeco  quidem  responsum  ad  nos 
ullum  est  allatum,  ad  eas  literas,  quas  scripseram,  fu- 
sas  satis,  de  rerum  nostrarum  statu.  Ut  ante  cseperat, 
ita  nunc  etiam  pergit  manus  Domini  nos  tangere. 
Nee  quserimur  tamen,  nee  dicimus:  miseremini  met, 
saltern  vos  amici  mei;  quia  potius  laetamur,  et  gaude- 
mus  semper,  quia  et  nostro,  omnium  quotquot  hie 
sumus,  et  ecclesise  nostrse  bono,  eveniunt  mala, 
quibus  permittit  Deus  nos  probari,  et  quibus  sane  nos 
coronet  potius,  quam  affligat. 

Intellexit  Paternitas  vestra,  posterioribus  meis 
Uteris  de  pretiosa  morte,  aut  potius  martyrio  Patrum 
nostrorum;  Patris  Antonii  Daniel,  Patris  Joannis 
de  Brebeuf,  et  Patris  Gabrielis  Lallement;  quos 
barbari  Iroquaei,  Ecclesiae  huic  nascenti  eripuerant 
crudeliter,  cum  grege  christiano  pastorem  etiam 
mactantes,  unumquemque  omnibus  suis  invigi- 
lantem. 

Sub  finem  exeuntis  ejusdem  anni  1649,  duo  alii 
Patres  simili  morte  perfuncti  sunt,  in  statione  sua: 
Pater  Carolus  Garnier,  vir  apostolicus,  vereque  natus 


8& 


1660] 


RAGUENEAU  TO  FATHER  GENERAL 


19 


Letter  of  Father  Paul  Ragueneau  to  the  Very  Rev- 
erend Father  General,  Vincent  Caraffa. 


OUR  VERY  Reverend  Father  in  Christ, 
Pax  Christi. 
Last  year,  we  received  no  letters  from 
Europe;  not  even  f:om  Quebec  did  any  reply  come 
to  those  letters  which  I  wrote,  fully  describing  the 
condition  of  our  affairs.  As  before,  the  hand  of  God 
has  continually  stricken  us.  Yet  we  complain  not, 
nor  do  we  cry :  Miseremini  met,  saltern  vos  amici  mei; 
because  we  rather  are  glad,  and  always  rejoice,  for 
these  evils  by  which  God  permits  us  to  be  tried 
result  in  blessing  to  all  of  us  who  are  here,  and  to 
our  church;  and  by  them  he  certainly  crowns  us, 
rather  than  casts  us  down. 

Your  Paternity  has  learned  from  my  last  letter  of 
the  precious  death,  or  rather  martyrdom,  of  our 
Fathers, —  Father  Antoine  Daniel,  Father  Jean  de 
Brebeuf ,  and  Father  Gabriel  Lallement, —  whom  the 
savage  Iroquois  cruelly  snatched  from  this  growing 
Church,  slaying  each  of  these  pastors  with  his 
Christian  flock,  as  he  watched  over  his  own. 

Toward  the  close  of  this  same  past  year,  1649,  two 
other  Fathers  suffered  a  like  death,  at  their  posts, — 
Father  Charles  Gamier,  an  apostolic  man,  who  cer- 
tainly was  born  for  the  salvation  of  those  peoples, 
and  to  whose  complete  holiness  nothing  was  lacking ; 
and  his  companion.  Father  Noel  Chabanel,  who  had 


«0 


LES  RELATIONS  vr.S  /^SUITES         [Vol.  35 


in  salutem  istarum  gentium,  cuique  nihil  omnino 
deerat  ad  perfectam  sanctitatem ;  et  Pater  Natalis 
Chabanel  ejus  socius,  qui  ex  Provincia  Tolosana  ad 
nos  venerat.  Alter  die  septima  Decembris  occisus 
est,  hostili  manu,  medio  in  oppido;  quod  victores 
Iroquaei  irruptione  facta,  ferro  atque  igne  vastarunt. 
Alter,  postridie  solum  extinctus  est,  Immaculatae 
Virginis  Conceptioni  sacro :  incertum  qua  manu ;  an 
hostili  anpotius  perfidi  apostatae,  qui  per  sylvas  invias 
errabundo  Patri,  ac  profugo,  necem  sit  molitus,  ut 
ejus  suppellectili,  quantumvis  paupere,  veste  nimirum 
et  calceis,  potiretur,  pileoque  jam  lacero. 

Sed  de  his  fusius  perscribam  alibi,  Neque  vero 
bello  solum  afiiicti  sunt  Hurones  nostri ;  sed  funesta 
fame,  et  contagiosa  lue,  simul  omnes  misere  pereunt. 
Effossa  passim  e  sepulchris  cadavera,  nee  fratribus 
modo  fratres,  sed  ipsis  etiam  matribus  filii,  jam 
evecti  fame,  pretiosa  nuper  pignora,  filiisque  parentes 
sui,  pabulum  non  semel  dedere :  inhumanum  quidem, 
nostrisque  barbaris  haud  insuetum  minus  quam 
Europaeis,  qui  suorum  carnibus  vesci  abhorrent.  Sed 
nimirum  nihil  in  cibo  discernunt  dentes  fameilci; 
neque  eum  agnoscunt,  in  cadavere  mortuo,  quem 
parentem,  quem  filium,  quem  fratrem  nuper  vocarent, 
dum  expiraret;  imo  neque  humano,  belluinoque 
stercori  parcitum.  Felices  quibus  amara  glande  et 
porcorum  siliquis  uti  licuit,  innocuo  cibo,  neque  vero 
ingrato,  cui  fames  condimentum  daret;  cuique  hoc 
anno  raritas  pretium  longe  majus  fecit,  quam  antea 
frumento  Indico  solitum  esset  dari. 


1650] 


RAGUENEAU  TO  FATHER  GENERAL 


21 


come  to  us  from  the  Province  of  Toulouse.^  One  of 
these  was  murdered  by  the  hand  of  an  enemy,  on  the 
seventh  day  of  December,  in  the  middle  of  the 
village,  which  the  victorious  Iroquois  had  raided  and 
laid  waste  with  fire  and  arms.  The  other  was  slain 
only  the  next  day,  a  day  sacred  to  the  Immaculate 
Conception  of  the  Virgin.  It  is  uncertain  by  whose 
hand  he  fell,  whether  that  of  an  enemy,  or,  more 
probably,  that  of  a  treacherous  apostate, —  who  may 
have  murdered  the  Father  :,s  he  wandered,  a  fugi- 
tive, through  the  trackless  forest,  that  he  might  rob 
the  priest,  poor  as  he  was,  of  even  his  clothes,  shoes, 
and  torn  hat. 

But  of  these  matters  I  will  write  more  fully  at 
another  time.  For,  in  truth,  our  Hurous  are  dis- 
tressed not  only  by  war,  but  by  a  deadly  famine  and 
a  contagious  plague;  all  are  miserably  perishing 
together.  Everywhere,  corpses  have  been  dug  out 
of  the  graves;  and,  now  carried  away  by  hunger, 
the  people  have  repeatedly  offered,  as  food,  those 
who  were  lately  the  dear  pledges  of  love, —  not  only 
brothers  to  brothers,  but  even  children  to  their 
mothers,  and  the  parents  to  their  own  children.  It 
is  true,  this  is  inhuman;  but  it  is  no  less  unusual 
among  our  savages  than  among  the  Europeans,  who 
abhor  eating  flesh  of  their  own  kind.  Doubtless  the 
teeth  of  the  starving  man  make  no  distinction  in 
food,  and  do  not  recognize  m  the  dead  body  him 
who  a  little  before  was  called,  until  he  died,  father, 
son,  or  brother.  Nay,  more,  even  the  dung  of  man 
or  beast  is  not  spared.  Fortunate  are  they  who  can 
eat  the  food  of  swine, —  bitter  acorns,  and  husks, — 
innocent  food,  and  indeed  not  without  relish,  to 
which  hunger  adds  a  sauce ;  to  these,  the  scarcity  of 


> 


22 


LES  RELATIONS  DES  jAiUITES         [Vol.  35 


•  '  -J 

1 


\  \ 


Haec  publica  calamitas,  inimica  corporibus,  animis 
salutaris  fuit:  nequp;  enim  hactenus  laborum  nos- 
trorum  fructus  major  extitit,  nunquam  altius  descendit 
fides  in  pectora,  neque  hie  usquam  ehristianum  nomen 
fuit  illustrius,  quam  inter  ruinas  afflictae  gentis. 
Numeramus  hoc  posteriore  anno,  baptizatos  barbaros, 
supra  tria  millia :  verissime  ut  nobis  dictum  appareat 
effatum  illud  Apostoli,  flagellat  Deus  omnem  filium 
quern  recipit.  Superstites  adhuc  sumus  in  hac  missi- 
one,  Fatres  tredecim,  coadjutores  quatuor,  domes- 
tici  perpetui  viginti  duo,  undecim  alii  famuli  non  per- 
petui  (quibus  solis  stipendia  solvuntur  satis  modica) ; 
sex  milites,  quatuor  pueri,  sexaginta  omnino  animse; 
quibus  coelestia  sic  sapiunt,  ut  terrena  desipiant: 
certfe  enin  affirmare  possum  Paternitati  vestrae,  nemi- 
nem  unum  esse  qui  in  spiritu  et  veritate  Deum  non 
adoret;vere  ut  haec  dici  possit  esse  Domus  Dei,  et 
Porta  cceli. 

Paternam  erga  nos  Dei  manum  experimur;  ita 
enim  hsec  nos  mala  cingunt,  ut  tamen  nusquam  attin- 
gant;  nihil  ut  animis,  nihil  ut  corporibus  defuerit; 
non  earum  quidem  rerum,  quae  ad  delicias,  sed  quibus 
natura  satis  sustentet  se  parvo  contenta.  Neque 
vero  nobis  solum  hie  viximus;  sed  insuper  nobis 
dedit  divina  munificentia,  unde  possemus  cL  istiano- 
rum  paupertati  ac  miseriis,  misericorditer  subvenire, 
vix  ut  ullus  restet  in  vivis,  qui  auxilio  nostro  non 
vivat;  vix  ut  ullus  sit  mortuus,  qui  non  agnoverit 
plus  charitati  nostrae  debere  se,   quam  ulli  omnino 


.1 


1650] 


RAGUENEAU  TO  FATHER  GENERAL 


this  year  has  given  a  value  far  higher  than,  for- 
merly, was  usually  placed  upon  Indian  corn. 

This  calamity  of  our  people  was,  though  destruc- 
tive to  their  bodies,  salutary  to  their  souls, —  for,  up 
to  this  time,  our  labors  have  not  yielded  greater 
fruits ;  never  before  has  faith  gone  more  deeply  into 
hearts,  or  the  name  of  Christian  been  more  glorious, 
than  in  the  midst  of  the  disasters  to  a  stricken  peo- 
ple. We  count  more  than  three  thousand  savages 
baptized  this  last  year ;  so  that  verily  that  saying  of 
the  Apostle  seems  to  be  spoken  unto  us :  Flagellat 
Deus  omnem  filiutn  quern  recipit.  At  present,  there 
remain  in  this  mission  thirteen  Fathers,  four  coadju- 
tors, twenty-two  donn6s,  eleven  other  domestics  (to 
whom  alone  are  paid  very  modest  wages),  six  sol- 
diers, and  four  boys, —  sixty  souls  in  all;  to  these, 
heavenly  things  have  so  sweet  a  savor  that  they 
render  those  of  earth  insipid.  Truly,  I  can  declare 
to  your  Paternity  that  there  is  not  one  who  does  not 
worship  God  in  spirit  and  in  truth, —  so  that  this 
may  verily  be  called  Domus  Dei,  et  Porta  coeli. 

We  experience  the  fatherly  guidance  of  God ;  for, 
although  evils  environ  us,  they  yet  do  not  touch  us, 
so  that  nothing  is  lacking  to  either  soul  or  body, — 
not  indeed  of  those  things  which  minister  to  pleas- 
ure, but  in  those  which  sufficiently  sustain  a  nature 
content  with  little.  Yet  we  do  not  live  here  merely 
for  ourselves ;  but  the  divine  bounty  has  given  us, 
in  addition,  means  with  which  to  relieve,  in  compas- 
sion, the  poverty  and  wretchedness  of  the  Chris- 
tians,— so  that  there  is  hardly  one  among  the  living 
who  does  not  live  by  our  aid;  hardly  one  of  those 
that  died  who  did  not  acknowledge  that  he  owed  more 
to  our  charity  than  to  that  of  any  other  human  being. 


1  I 

I    ! 


24 


LES  RELATIONS  DES  J&SUITES  [Vol.  3& 


mortalium  omnium.  Sic  adeo  ut  parentes  Patriae 
publice  jam  vocemur,  et  omnino  simus:  magnum 
sane  adjumentum  ad  christianam  fidem. 

De  future  Dominus  providebit,  sufficit  enim  diei 
malitia  sua.  Sed  tamen  duse  res  sunt,  unde  multum 
timemus  huic  missioni,  ne  ruinam  trahat.  Alterum, 
ab  hostibus  Iroquaeis;  alterum  a  defectu  annonae: 
neque  enim  satis  apparet,  unde  huic  malo  obviam  iri 
possit.  Coacti  sunt  Hurones  nostri,  superiori  anno, 
non  modo  suas  domos,  suaque  oppida,  sed  agros  etiam 
deserere :  vexati  nimis  bello,  ac  perpetuis  afflicti  cladi- 
bus;  fugientem  gregem,  secuti  sumus  Pastores;  nos- 
trasque  etiam  sedes,  delicias  dicam  nostras,  Sanctae 
Mariae  domum  reliquimus,  excultaque  a  nobis  jugera, 
quae  spem  divitem  messis  darent :  imo,  operi  manuum 
nostrarum,  nos  ipsi  ignem  subjecimus;  ne  hostibus 
impiis,  tectum  praeberet  Domus  sancta:  atque  adeo 
una  die,  ac  fere  momento,  absumi  vidimus  labores 
nostros,  decem  propemodum  annorum:  unde  spes 
erat  nobis,  potuisse  nos  colligere,  quae  necessaria 
nobis  ad  victum  f orent ;  adeoque  perstare  nos  potu- 
isse, in  his  regionibus,  sine  auxilio  Galliae.  Sed  Deo 
aliter  visum  est:  desolata  nunc  domus,  desolatique 
Penates;  alio migrandum fuit,  et  in  terra exilii  nostri, 
novum  exilium  quaerendum. 

In  conspectu  continentis,  viginti  circiter  milliaribus 
ab  hac  prima  sede  Sanctae  Mariae,  Insula  est,  vastis- 
simo  cincta  lacu  (quod  mare  melius  vocetur):  illic 
stetere  Hurones  profugi,  pars  saltem  maxima;  illic 


I 
I 


1650] 


RAGUENEAU  TO  FATHER  GENERAL 


25 


Indeed,  we  are  publicly  hailed  as  the  fathers  of  this 
Country,  and  so  we  are, —  wherein  there  is  certainly 
strong  support  to  the  Christian  faith. 

For  the  future,  the  Lord  will  provide;  sufficit  enim 
diei  malitia  sua.  Nevertheless,  there  are  two  sources 
of  possible  destruction  to  this  mission,  which  we 
greatly  dread, —  first,  the  hostile  Iroquois;  second, 
the  failure  of  provisions;  and  it  is  not  clear  how 
these  dangers  may  be  encountered.  Our  Hurons, 
last  year,  were  forced  not  only  to  leave  their  homes 
and  their  fortified  villages,  but  even  to  forsake  their 
fields,  because  they  were  harassed  by  warfare,  and 
crushed  by  unceasing  disaster.  We,  the  Shepherds, 
followed  our  fleeing  flock,  and  we  too  have  left  our 
dwelling-place, —  I  might  call  it  our  delight, —  the 
residence  of  Sainte  Marie,  and  the  fields  we  had 
tilled,  which  promised  a  rich  harvest.  Nay,  more,  we 
even  applied  the  torch  to  the  work  of  our  own  hands, 
lest  the  sacred  House  should  furnish  shelter  to  our 
impious  enemy:  and  thus  in  a  single  day,  and  almost 
in  a  moment,  we  saw  consumed  our  work  of  nearly 
ten  years,  which  had  given  us  the  hope  that  we  could 
produce  the  necessities  of  life,  and  thus  maintain 
ourselves  in  this  country  without  aid  from  France. 
But  God  has  willed  otherwise;  our  home  is  now 
laid  waste,  and  our  Penates  forsaken;  we  have  been 
compelled  to  journey  elsewhere,  and,  in  the  land  of 
our  exile,  to  seek  a  new  place  of  banishment. 

Within  sight  of  the  mainland,  about  twenty  miles 
from  that  first  site  of  Sainte  Marie,  is  an  Island  sur- 
rounded by  a  vast  lake  (which  might  better  be  called 
a  sea).  There  the  fugitive  Hurons  checked  their 
flight,  —  at  least  most  of  them;  there  also  we  must 
abide;  there,  where  lately    were    the    dens  of    wild 


r--V- 


26 


LES  RELATIONS  DES  J&SUITES         [Vol.  36 


etiam  standum  nobis  f uit :  illic  struendse  novae  sedes, 
ubi  nuper  ferarum  tecta  fuerant;  illic  exscindendae 
silvae,  nunquam  ab  orbe  condito  securim  passae ;  illic 
demum  exstruenda  praesidia,  bellicus  labor,  non  nobis 
solum,  sed  etiam  barbaris.  Hae  fuerunt  artes  nostrae, 
hie  conatus  noster  continuus;  non  aestate  modo,  sed 
tota  hyeme ;  ut  jam  satis  tuti  nobis  videamur,  ab  hac 
parte,  atque  excipiendo  communi  hosti  hand  imparati : 
neque  enim  ligneo  tantum  vallo  cincti  sumiis,  ut  moris 
hactenus  fuerat;  sed  lapide,  spissoque  muro,  quam 
difficili  ad  ascensum,  tam  facili  ad  defensionem;  qui- 
que  inimicum  ignem  non  metuat,  non  arietem, 
tormentave  uUa  bellica  quibus  uti  possint  Iroquaei. 

Sed  operosior  longe  restat  labor,  evellendis  arbo- 
ribus,  tellurique  ad  cultum  agrorum  parandae,  unde 
arcendae  fami,  partim  frumenta,  partim  radices,  atque 
herbae  sufficiant ;  Tali  enim  cibo  hie  vescimur ;  nuUo 
utimur  potu,  nisi  aquae  frigidae:  vix  ullo  vestitu,  nisi 
ferarum  pellibus,  quas  natura  sine  arte  praebet. 
Gallinas  decem,  par  unum  porcorum  reservavimus, 
boves  duos,  totidemque  vaccas  quantum  scilicet 
servandae  prolis  sit  satis;  annonae  frumenti  Indici,  in 
annum  unum,  absumpta  reliqua,  ut  charitati  christi- 
anse  non  deessemus:  servatum  tamen  exiguum  illud, 
quod  dixi;  quia  charitas  non  agit  perperam;  nee 
debuit  tam  esse  prodiga,  curandis  utique  corporibus, 
nihil  ut  nobis  reliqui  faceret,  quo  possemus  nos 
utcumque  sustentare,  qui  fidei  excolendae,  salutique 
animorum    procurandae     incumbamus.       Ut    tamen 


•M 


1650] 


RAGUENEAU  TO  FATHER  GENERAL 


27 


beasts,  we  were  obliged  to  build  new  homes ;  there 
the  forest,  never  touched  by  the  axe  since  the  crea- 
tion, had  to  be  cleared  away;  there,  finally,  not  only 
we,  but  the  savages,  had  to  construct  fortifications,  a 
task  pertaining  to  war.  This  was  our  occupation, 
this  our  unceavsing  effort, —  winter  and  summer 
alike, — that  we  might  at  last  render  ourselves  safe, 
in  this  respect,  and  quite  prepared  to  receive  the 
common  enemy.  We  surrounded  our  position,  not 
merely  with  a  wooden  palisade,  as  hitherto  had  been 
the  custom,  but  with  a  closely-built  stone  wall,  as 
difficult  to  scale  as  it  is  easy  of  defense, —  which 
defies  the  enemy's  torch,  or  a  battering-ram,  or  any 
engine  of  war  which  the  Iroquois  can  employ. 

But  a  far  more  laborious  task  remains,  in  pulling 
out  trees  and  preparing  the  ground  for  cultivation, 
that  its  yield  of  grain,  roots,  and  vegetables  may  be 
sufficient  to  prevent  famine  —  for  on  such  food  we 
live  here ;  we  have  no  other  beverage  than  cold 
water.  We  have  almost  no  covering,  save  the  skins 
of  beasts,  which  nature  furnishes  without  labor  on 
our  part.  We  saved  ten  fowls,  a  pair  of  swine,  two 
bulls,  and  the  same  number  of  cows, —  enough  doubt- 
less to  preserve  their  kind.  We  have  one  year's 
supply  of  Indian  corn ;  the  rest  has  been  used  for 
Christian  charity.  However,  the  small  amount 
which  I  have  mentioned  has  been  saved,  because 
charity  does  not  act  blindly,  and  ought  not  to  be  so 
lavish,  especially  in  saving  bodies,  as  to  leave  noth- 
ing for  our  sustenance  who  must  devote  ourselves  to 
the  cultivation  of  the  faith,  and  to  securing  the  salva- 
tion of  souls.  But,  though  everything  should  fail, 
never,  God  helping  us,  shall  courage,  hope,  and 
patience  fail;  for  love  can  do  all  things,  and  endure 


28 


LES  RELA  TIONS  DES  j£SUITES         [Vol.  35 


omnia  desint,  Deo  adjuvante,  nusquam  deerunt  ani- 
mi,  nusquam  spes  deerit,  nusquam  patientia:  charitas 
enim  omnia  potest,  omnia  sustinet.  Hoc  polliceri 
sancte  possum,  de  omnibus  quotquot  hie  degunt, 
Patribus.  Paratum  habent  pectus  ad  omnia:  non 
cruces,  non  pericula,  non  cruciatus  ullos  exhorrent, 
quorum  in  conspectu  vivunt,  in  quibus  mori,  habent 
in  votis,  e6  feliciorem  aestimantes  missionis  hujus 
statum,  suaeque  vocationis  dignitatem,  quo  propius 
positam  ante  oculos  jam  vident,  crucem  quisque 
suam,  seque  omnino  in  cruce  positos;  unde  eos 
eripere,  nullus  mcrtalium  possit;  unde  eosdem 
detrahere,  sola  jubentis  Dei  voluntas  queat,  qui  per 
obedientice  vocem  eis  loquatur.  Amet  nos,  vestra 
Paternitas,  filios  suos  et  benedicat  nobis,  in  ccelesti- 
bus,  in  christo ;  quia  filii  Crucis  sumus,  utinam  in  ea 
moriamur.  Haec  summa  est  votorum  nostrorum, 
hsec  spes  nostra,  hoc  nostrum  gaudium  quod  nemo 
toilet  a  nobis. 

R'^'^  admodum  P*«"«  V« 
Humillimus  et  obsequentissimus  filius 

Paulus  Ragueneau. 
Ex  Domo  Sanctae  Mariae  in 
Insula  Sancti  Josephi  apud  Hurones 
In  Nova  Francia  13°  Martii  1650 

Admodum  Reverendo  in  Christo 

Patri  nostro  Vincentio  Carafifae 

Praeposito  Generali  Societatis  Jesu,  Romam. 


I 


1650]         RAGUENEAU  TO  FATHER  GENERAL 


29 


all  things.     This   solemn   assertion    I   can    make   as 
regards  all  the   Fathers  living  here.     Their  hearts 
are  ready  for  all  things.     They  dread  neither  c-osses, 
nor  dangers,  nor  torture;  in  the  sight  of  these  they 
live,  and  in  these  they  pray  to  die,— counting  the 
state  of  this  mission  the  more  blessed,  and  the  dig- 
nity of  their  own  vocation  the  nobler,  the  nearer  they 
see  each  his  own  cross  before  him,  and  himself  upon 
It,   whence  no  mortal  could  rescue  them;    whence 
only  the  will  and  command  of  God,  who  speaks  to 
them  through  the  voice  of  obedience,  can  withdraw 
them.     We  beg  the  love  and  blessing  of  your  Pater- 
nity for  us,   your  sons,   in  the  heavenly  places  in 
Christ;  for  we  are  sons  of  the  Cross,— oh,  that  we 
may   die    upon    it!     This    is    the    burden    of    our 
prayers,  this  our  hope,  this  our  joy,  which   no  one 
shall  take  from  us. 

Your  most  Reverend  Paternity's 
Most  humble  and  obedient  son, 

Paul  Ragueneau. 
From  the  Residence  of  Sainte  Marie, 
in  the  Island  of  Saint  Joseph,  among  the  Hurons 
In  New  France,  March  13,  1650. 

To  our  Very  Reverend  Father  in  Christ, 

Vincent  Caraffa, 

General  of  the  Society  of  Jesus,  at  Rome. 


*4r 


so 


LES  RET.A  TIONS  DES  JESUITES  [Vol.  38 


Journal  des  Peres  Jesuites,  en  I'annee 

1 6  JO. 


Estreines. 

M'.   I'ignar. 

Mdlle.  Manse. 


saints  ler.  dim. 
moys. 


du 


I 


lANUIER.    1650. 

LES   Hospitalieres   lettre   le   matin   par 

M.  de  S'.  Sauueur  a  qui  ie  donn6  vn  pain 

de   bougie   vn    Crucifix,   &    Vn   gerson 

coe  principal  officier  de  noe  paroisse  les  Hos- 

pit.  enuoyerent  2.  Chapons  le  matin. 

les  Vrsul^.  nvf  enuoyerent  saliier  par  M*". 
Vignar,  &  n'enuoyerent  rien  autre  chose:  le 
donnc  a  M"".  Vignar  vn  pain  de  bougie ;  &  vne 
bible  que  m'auoit  donne  Madcin.  Manse. 

A  S^  Martin  vn  pain  de  bougie,  &  vne  main 
de  papier  &  deux  liurets  spirituels. 

Mons^  le  gouu.  enuoya  vne  esc8ade  de  sol- 
dats  au  bout  du  pont  nvf  saluer  auec  decharge 
de  leur  arquebuse,  &  de  plvf  6.  flacons  de  vin 
dont  deux  estoient  de  vin  d'Espagne. 

I'enuoye  les  Estreines  a  tout  les  domesti- 
ques  de  la  maison,  scauoir  vn  petit  reliquaire 
de  deux  sols,  &  vn  liure  de  plvf  a  gloria,  &  a 
beaufour  officier  du  lutrin.  on  leur  donna 
souliers  sauu.  ou  mitraines. 

on  commen9a  le  Dimanche  i^*"  dimanche  du 
moys  &  le  2°".  de  I'ann^e  a  aller  au  salut 
aux  Hospitalieres  auec  resolution  d 'aller 
alternis  primis  Dominicis  Mensiu  aux  maisons 


m 


36 


1660] 


JOURNAL  DES  FP,  j£.SUITES 


31 


Journal  of  the  Jesuit  Fathers,  in  the  year 

1 6^0. 


)ar 
lit! 
;on 
os- 

M^ 
le 

/•ne 

ain 

;ol- 
rge 
vin 

sti- 
lire 
&a 
ma 

du 

Hut 

ler 

ons 


JANUARY,    1650. 

1ST.  The  Hospital  nuns  sent  a  letter  in  the 
morning  by  Monsieur  de  St.  Sauveur,  to 
whom  I  gave  a  cake  of  candle-wax,  a  Cru- 
cifix, and  A  gerson, — as  being  the  principal 
officer  of  our  parish.  The  Hospital  nuns  sent 
2  Capons  in  the  morning. 

The  Ursulines  sent  greeting  to  us  by  Mon- 
sieur Vignar,  and  sent  nothing  else.  I  gave 
Monsieur  Vignar  a  cake  of  candle-wax,  and  a 
bible  which  Madcmoyselle  Manse  had  given  me." 

To  St.  Martin  a  cake  of  candle-wax,  a  quire 
of  paper,  and  two  spiritual  books. 

Monsieur  the  governor  sent  a  squad  of  sol- 
diers to  the  end  of  the  bridge,  to  salute  us  with 
a  discharge  of  their  arquebuses ;  and  further, 
6  flagons  of  wine,  two  of  which  were  Spanish. 

I  sent  New-year's  gifts  to  all  the  domestics 
of  the  house, — to  wit,  a  little  reliquary  of  two 
sols;  and,  in  addition,  a  book  to  gloria,  and 
one  to  beaufour,  an  officer  in  the  choir.  We 
gave  them  savage  shoes  or  mittens. 

We  began  on  Sunday, — the  ist  sunday  of 
the  month  and  the  2nd  day  of  the  year, —  to 
go  to  benediction  at  the  Hospital  nuns',  with 
the  resolution  to  go  alternis  printis  Dominicis 
Mcnsium  to  the  religious  houses,  and  pray  to 


New-year' s  gifts. 
Monsieur  Vignar. 

Mademoyselle 
Manse. 


Benediction  on  the 

tst  Sunday  of 

the  month. 


%. 


32 


LES  RELA  TIONS  DES  /jtlSUITES  [Vol.  36 


.,1 


Mission  tons  les 

Dimanches  a  bcau' 

port. 

quantiti  de  ptres. 


Cahane  de  satiitages 
a  I'hopitul, 


prise  d'orignau.x. 


Exercices  a  made,  de 
moticeaux. 

Rntrde  de  Mad*,  la 
gouuern,  a  Sillery. 


lours  gras. 


religieuses  prier  Dieu  p'.  t6utes  les  necessites 
du  pays  par  le  salut  du  S'.  Sacrem'.  &  les  orai- 
sons  Conuenables  a  la  fin. 

on  Commenga  a  aller  a  beaiiport  tvf  les 
dimanches,  &  festes  dire  la  Messe,  le  chemin 
estant  fort  beau,  &  y  ayant  icy  quant  it  c'  de 
prestres:  Et  on  y  fit  mission  apres  Noel  &  aux 
Moys  suiuans;  le  p.  richar  auoit  ce  soin. 

Vne  Cabane  fut  dress^e  a  la  Cour  de  1' hos- 
pital p"".  les  sauuages ;  le  magazin  fournit  les 
planches,  &  coe  ie  croy  cout  le  reste,  scauoir 
le  Clou  &  les  cheurons  ii  parut  toutesfois  au 
commencem^  que  c'estoient  les  Hospitalieres, 
qui  fournirent  les  lourn^es  de  quelques 
hommes ;  nvf  donnasmes  vn  Charpentier  deux 
lours  &  le  fort  deux  soldats  Charpentiers ; 
dans  I'vsage  elle  parut  Inutile  a  cause  de  la 
fumee. 

FEBURIER.    1650. 

Sur  la  nouuelle  de  pistes  d'yroquois,  il  y 
eut  rumeur  a  Quebek  &  Conseil  p^  les  precau- 
tions de  ce  mal-heur. 

II  y  eut  quantity  d'orignacs  pris  cette  ann^e 
du  coste  du  nort  &  du  Sud,  tant  par  les 
fran§ois  que  par  les  sauuages. 

le  p  lyonne  a  Sillery  donne  les  Exercices  a 
Madame  de  Monceaux. 

Differend  p*".  I'entrde  de  Mademoys.  la  gou- 
uernante  a  Sillery  reigl^  par  vne  lettre  enuoy^e 
a  cet  effect  a  Sillery. 

Aux    lours    gras    coe    les    annees    passees 


(f 


1660] 


JOURNAL  DES  PP.  JASUITES 


as 


God  for  all  the  needs  of  the  country,  through 
the  benediction  of  the  Blessed  Sacrament,  and 
Suitable  prayers  at  the  close. 

We  Began  to  go  to  beauport,  every  sunday  Mission   every  Sun- 
and  feast-day,  to  say  Mass,— the  road  being      day  at  beauport. 
very  good,  and  there  being  many  priests  here;        Many  priests. 
And  we  held  a  mission  there  after  Christmas, 
and  in  the  following  Months.     Father  richar 
had  this  charge. 

A  Cabin  was  erected  in  the  Court  of  the  Cabin  for  savages  at 
hospital,  for  the  savages;  the  warehouse  fur-  the  hospital. 

nished  the  boards,  and,  I  believe,  all  the 
rest, —  namely,  the  Nails  and  the  rafters.  It 
appeared  at  the  start,  however,  that  the  Time 
of  certain  men  was  furnished  by  the  Hospital 
nuns.  We  gave  a  Carpenter  for  t"wo  Days, 
and  the  fort  two  soldiers  who  wer^  Jarpen- 
ters.  Upon  occupying  it,  the  cabiii  aoved 
to  be  Useless,  on  account  of  the  smok 


FEBRUARY,    1650. 

Upon  the  news  of  yroquois  tracks,  there 
was  some  excitement  at  Quebek,  and  a  Coun- 
cil for  precautions  against  this  misfortune. 

There  were  many  moose  taken  this  year 
both  north  and  South  of  us  —  by  the  french 
as  v^ell  as  the  savages. 

Father  lyonne,  at  Sillery,  holds  a  Retreat 
for  Madame  de  Monceaux.'^ 

Dispute  concerning  the  entry  of  Mademoy- 
selle  the  governor's  wife  at  Sillery ;  regulated 
by  f  letter  sent  for  this  purpose  to  Sillery. 

At  Shrovetide,  as  in  the  former  years,  bene- 
diction at  the  parish  church,  at  the  End  of 


Capture  of  moose. 


Retreat  for  madame 
de  tnonceaux. 

Entrance    of   Made- 
inoyselle  the  gov- 
ernor's wife  at 
Sillery. 

Shrovetide. 


1 


f    ^:i 


Mercredy  des  ceti- 
dres. 


Predications  du 
Quaresme 


Entrde  aux  Hospit. 
de  Mad.  de  Moceaux. 


St-  Joseph. 


34 


LES  RELA  TIONS  DES  /^SUITES  [Vol.  35 


salut  a  la  paroisse  a  Tissue  de  Vespres  le  Di- 
manche.  le  lundi  a  I'hospital  sur  les  3.  h. 
&  le  mardy  aux  Vrsul^^.  a  mesme  heure, 
ceux  de  vSillery  s'en  peuuent  retourner  le 
faisant  a  3.  h.  p"".  salut  Vtrobiq.,  le  miserere, 
Tantu  ergo,  &  vn  motet  par  elles  au  lieu  du 
laudate  &c 

le  Mercredy  des  cendres  coe  Tan  passe  mais 
on  sonna  trop  tost,  il  suffit  de  sonner  le  i^"".  a 
7.  h.  a  jYi.  la  petite  Messe,  &  Incontinent 
apres  la  benediction  des  Cendres,  &  la  grande 
messe. 

MARS 

le  lour  des  Cendres  estoit  le  2.  le  p.  bres- 
sany  prescha  le  mercredy  &  Vendredy  outre 
les  Dim.  &  festes  coe  I'an  passe  id  est  le  Mer- 
credy aux  VrsuP^.  a  commencer  le  2 .  mercredy ; 
&  le  Vendredy  aux  Hospital,  a  commencer  le 
i^"".  Vendredy. 

Madame  de  monceaux,  m'ayant  demand^ 
permission  de  faire  vne  retraite  les  lours  gras 
aux  Hospitalieres,  ie  le  luy  accorde,  apres 
auoir  regeu  par  escrit  le  sentim^  de  la  Sup.  & 
de  toute  la  Communaute  qui  le  desiroit. 

La  veuille  de  S'.  loseph  il  y  eut  vn  feu  fort 
froid  c'est  a  dir .  tout  simple  sans  artifice  ny 
fusee  Mons*^.  le  gouuern^  me  fit  prier  par 
sa  femme  d'y  mettre  le  feu,  luy  estant  Indis- 
pose, ie  le  fis,  mais  auec  grande  repugnance ; 
on  n'y  chanta  point  parce  qu'on  doit  suppo- 
ser  que  le  salut  qui  a  precede  Immediatem^, 


f 


i 


in 


1650] 


JOURNAL  DES  PP.  jASV^TES 


35 


Vespers  on  Sunday ;  at  the  hospital  or  mon- 
day,  about  3  o'clock ;  and  on  tuesday  at  the 
Ursulines',  at  the  same  hour.  Those  from 
Sillery  can  return,  when  this  occurs  at  3 
o'clock.  For  benediction  Utrobiquc,  the  mise- 
rere, Tantum  ergo,  and  a  motet  by  the  nuns, 
instead  of  the  laudate,  etc. 

Ash  Wednesday,  as  last  year;  but  we  rang 
too  soon.  It  is  sufficient  to  ring  the  ist  bell 
at  7  o'clock;  at  7}4,  low  Mass;  and,  Immedi- 
ately after,  the  blessing  of  the  Ashes,  and 
high  mass. 

MARCH. 

Ash  Wednesday  was  on  the  2nd.  Father 
bressany  preached  on  Wednesday  and  Friday, 
besides  Sundays  and  feast-days,  as  last  year, — 
id  est,  on  Wednesday  at  the  Ursulines',  begin- 
ning with  the  2nd  Wednesday;  and  on  Friday 
at  the  Hospital  nuns',  beginning  with  the  ist 
Friday. 

Madame  de  monceaux,  having  asked  me 
permission  to  make  a  retreat  at  Shrovetide  at 
the  Hospital  nuns',  I  granted  it  her,  after 
having  received  in  writing  the  opinion  of  the 
Superioress  and  of  the  whole  Community, 
who  desired  it. 

On  St.  Joseph's  eve,  there  was  a  very  cold 
bonfire, —  that  is  to  say,  very  simple,  without 
fireworks  or  rockets.  Monsieur  the  governor 
requested  me,  through  his  wife,  to  start  the 
fire, —  he  being  Indisposed.  I  did  so,  but 
with  great  repugnance.  There  was  no  sing- 
ing,  because  it  is  to  be  supposed   that   the 


As/i  Wednesday. 


Lenten  Preaching. 


Madame  de  Mon- 
ceaux's    entrance 
among  the  Hos- 
pital nuns. 


St.  Joseph. 


T" 


^ 


36 


LES  RELA  TIONS  DES  jftSUITES  [Vol.  35 


Messagers. 


Sepmaine  Si'. 


c'est  a  dire  enuiron  vne  heure  deuant,  supplde 
a  cela. 

II  y  eut  cette  ann^e  force  messagers  des  3. 
riu.  icy,  &  d'icy  aux  3.  riu. 

1650.   AURIL 

Le  Dimanche  des  rameaux  estoit  le  dix,  on 
y  fit  tout  coe  I'an  passe,  le  leudy  S*.  tout  coe 
I'an  passe,  le  lauem*.  des  pieds  a  I'hospital: 
il  y  eut  toutesfois  cette  ann^e  vn  manquem'. 
aussy  bien  que  toutes  les  annees  precedentes 
scauoir  qu'on  ne  donna  pas  vn  ordre  suffisant 
p"".  ne  point  laisser  le  S*.  Sacrement  seul  a  la 
paroisse  tout  le  long  de  I'apresdisn^e ;  les 
Peres  pouroient  prendre  vne  heure  pour  y  aller 
dire  leurs  heures,  au  moms  depuis  quatre 
heures  iusques  a  7. 

le  Vendredy  le  sermon  de  la  passion  com- 
menga  a  7.  h.  &  demie  c'est  vne  bonne  heure; 
le  reste  coe  I'an  pass6 

le  Samedy  on  commen9a  le  seruice  a  7.54^  & 
c'est  vne  fort  bonne  heure  pour  plusieurs 
raisons :  1**^  p"".  louir  deM.de  S'.  Sauueur  qui 
ioit  se  trouuer  au  seruice  de  I'hospital  &.  la 
paroisse  doit  sonner  La  premiere:  2°'^.  affin 
que  nos  Peres  qui  desirent  dire  la  messe  '  i 
puisse  dire  plvf  regulierem'.  car  le  seruice 
finissant  en  suite  sur  les  9.  h.  ^  on  pent  dire 
ensuite  fort  naturellem^  &  regulierem^  plu- 
sieurs Messes  coe  a  n.  D.  de  Paris :  tout  le  reste 
coe  I'an  pass6: 

le  fis  plusieurs  fautes  a  la  benediction  des 


1650] 


JOURNAL  DES  PP.  J&SUITES 


37 


benediction  which  has  Immediately  pre- 
ceded—  that  is,  about  an  hour  before  —  com- 
pensates for  that. 

There  were  many  messengers  this  year 
from  3  rivers  hither,  and  from  here  to  3  rivers. 

1650,   APRIL. 

Palm  Sunday  was  on  the  tenth ;  all  the  serv- 
ices were  held  the  same  as  last  year.  On 
Holy  Thursday,  f^xactly  as  last  year,  occurred 
the  washing  of  feet  at  the  hospital ;  there  was, 
however,  an  omission  this  year,  as  well  as  in 
all  the  preceding  years, —  to  wit,  that  no  suffi- 
cient order  was  given  that  the  Blessed  Sacra- 
ment might  not  be  left  alone  at  the  parish 
church  throughout  the  afternoon.  The  Fa- 
thers might  take  an  hour  to  go  there  and  say 
their  canonical  hours, — at  least,  from  four 
o'clock  till  7. 

On  Friday  the  passion  sermon  began  at  half 
past  7. — a  good  hour;  the  ^est,  the  same  as 
last  year. 

On  Saturday,  we  began  the  service  at  a 
){  past  7 ;  and  this  is  a  very  good  hour,  for 
several  reasons:  ist,  for  having  the  Bene- 
fit of  Monsieur  de  St.  Sauveur,  who  must  be 
present  at  the  hospital  service,  and  the  parish 
bell  must  ring  first;  2nd,  so  that  our  Fathers 
who  desire  to  say  mass,  may  say  it  more  regu- 
larly,—  for,  the  service  thus  ending  about  ^ 
past  9,  one  may  then  very  naturally  and  regu- 
larly say  several  Masses,  as  at  nostre  Dame  in 
Paris.     All  other  services  occurred  as  last  year. 

I  made  several  mistakes  at  the  blessing  of 


Messengers. 


Holy  Week. 


I. 


H 


38 


Sa  lilts  les  festes  de 

pas  que  a  I' ordinaire 

aux  Maisons  relig. 


2  consultes. 


Consulte  p^.  la 
Colonie  Huronne, 


LES  RELATIONS  DES  JESUITES  [Vol.  36 


fonds  pour  n'auoir  pas  relu  auparauant  le 
missel  me  fianta  ce  que  les  annees  precedentes 
i'en  auois  pratique,  mais  c'est  a  quoy  il  ne  se 
faut  iamais  fier. 

Le  Dimanche  de  pasque,  il  y  eut  du  monde 
des  quatre  heures  qui  occupa  au  moins  4. 
Confesseurs  iusques  a  9.  heures;  le  p.  bres- 
sany  fit  I'entretien  coe  les  deux  annees 
precedentes  cela  me  parut  plvf  a  propos  que 
Iamais  cela  tenant  place  de  sermon :  il  y  eut 
quatre  messes,  mais  pour  bien  faire  il  en 
faudroit  5.  ce  lour  la  deux  deuant  la  grande 
messe,  &  deux  apres:  on  n'alla  point  ce  lour 
la  a  beauport  &  a  Sillery  on  ne  donna  point 
la  Communion;  1)  salut  a  7.  heures  on  aduace 
le  souper  d'vn  quart  d'heure. 

En  ce  temps  le  fis  deux  Consultes  conside- 
rables ou  estoient  le  p.  Vimont  p.  bressany  p. 
de  la  place,  &  le  p.  richar: 

La  i^.  s'il  falloit  done  loger  &  donner  place 
aux  Hurons  sur  nos  terres  de  beauport,  «&  il 
fut  dit  qu'ouy,  mais  qu'il  falloit  que  ce  fussent 
families  les  plvf  choisies,  &  qu'il  falloit  se 
resoudre  de  faire  la  depence  de  cinq  cents 
escvf  par  an  pour  ce  suiet 

La  2°.  si  ayant  re9eu  six  mille  liures  de 
la  Communaute  p''.  le  bastiment  de  noe 
maison  de  Quebek,  laquelle  somme  paroissoit 
grosse  a  ceux  qui  estoient  maintenant  dans 
les  affaires:  si  pour  adoucir  cet  article,  il 
seroit  conuenable  de  ne  rien  demander,  a  la 


I 


t\ 


{>! 


1650] 


JOURNAL  DES  PP.  J  ^SUITES 


39 


the  fonts,  for  not  having  previously  read  the 
miss;il  again, — relying  on  what  I  had  practiced 
in  tne  preceding  years ;  but  one  should  never 
triibi;  to  that. 

On  easter  Sunday,  there  were  people  as 
early  as  four  o'clock,  who  occupied  at  least  4 
Confessors  until  9  o'clock.  Father  bressany 
discoursed,  as  in  the  two  preceding  years;  that 
appeared  to  me  more  appropriate  than  Ever, 
as  taking  the  place  of  a  sermon.  There  were 
four  masses;  but  there  should  properly  be  5. 
On  that  Day,  there  were  two  before  high  mass, 
and  two  afterward.  We  did  not  go  on  that 
Day  to  beauport ;  and  at  Sillery  we  did  not  give 
the  Communion.  Benediction  at  7  o'clock; 
supper  was  eaten  a  quarter  of  an  hour  earlier. 

At  this  time  I  held  two  important  Consulta- 
tions, at  which  were  present  father  Vimont, 
father  bressany,  father  de  la  place,  and  father 
richar. 

The  ist,  as  to  whether  it  was  incumbent 
upon  us  to  lodge  and  assign  a  location  to  the 
Hurons  upon  our  lands  at  beauport.  It  was 
decided  that  we  should  do  so,  but  that  these 
must  be  families  most  carefully  selected ;  and 
that  we  must  resolve  to  incur  an  expense  of 
five  hundred  ecus  a  year  for  this  purpose. 

At  the  2nd,  it  was  debated  whether,  hav- 
ing received  six  thousand  livres  from  the 
Cummunity  for  the  building  of  our  house  at 
Quebek, —  which  sum  appeared  heavy  to  those 
who  were  now  in  office, —  in  order  to  abate 
this  item,  it  would  be  proper  to  ask  nothing 
from  the  Community  for  the  building  at  three 


Benedictions  on    the 
easter  festivals, 
as  usual,  at  the 
religious  Houses. 


3  consultations. 


Consultation    about 
the  Huron  Colony, 


\ 


( 


ii 


40 


LES  RELA  TIONS  DES  /^SUITES  [Vol.  35 


6t*  p*"-  le  bastiment 
des  3.  rt'u. 


aooott. 


retour  du  Pere 
Druilletes. 

St.  Marc. 


nouuelles  de  Mont- 
real 


depart  de  robert 


depart  du  p.  lyonne 
p*-.  Tadousac. 

tide  f.  ratel  arriue. 


Voyage  aux  3.  riu. 


Communaut6  p''.  le  bastiment  dcs  trots  rhiieres  que 
nvf  desirions  pareillem*.  bastir  sur  nos  terres,  quoy 
que  Van  pass6  on  eut  arrest6  au  Conseil  de 
nvf  donner  pour  cela  deux  mille  liures  mais 
qui  n'auoien*-.  point  est6  touch^es:  &  il  fut  dit 
qu'il  seroit  mieux  de  faire  ce  bastiment  de  nvf 
mesme  p^  le  subiect  susdit,  &  qu'il  ne  falloit 
point  presser  1 'execution  du  payement  des 
susdits  2.  mille  liures. 

le  18.  lendemain  de  Pasque  retour  du  p. 
Druilletes  en  bonne  sant6. 

le  25.  lour  de  S^  Marc  on  ne  fit  point  de 
procession  mais  on  se  contenta  des  litanies 
apres  Vespres :  enuiron  ce  lour  fut  debouch^e 
la  petite  riuiere  de  S^  Charles. 

le  27.  arriua  fontarabie  de  montreal;  i'estois 
a  Sillery  oil  ie  faisois  la  visite,  &  y  fis  la  6'. 
&  derniere  exhortaon. 

le  30.  partit  robert  le  Coq  pour  les  3. 
riu.  auec  la  Chaloupe  de  Martin  grouuel  & 
quelques  Canots. 

MAY 

le  3.  partit  le  p.  lyonne  auec  sauuages  pour 
la  mission  de  Tadoussac,  &  de  gasp^. 

le  9.  au  soir  arriua  des  3.  riu.  noe  f.  laques 
ratel ;  lis  apporterent  les  nouuelles  de  la  prise 
d'vn  yroquois,  qui  disoit  force  nouuelles. 

le  II.  nous  partismes  p"".  les  3.  riu;  apres 
auoir  entendu  les  premiers  massacres  de  deux 
hommes  &  pillage  des  yroquois  en  ces  quar- 
tiers  fait  le  mesme  lour  sur  les  4.  h.  du  matin 


1650] 


JOURNAL  DES  PP.  /^SUITES 


41 


and  about  the  build- 
ing at  J  rivers. 

3000  livres. 


Return  of  Father 
Druilletes. 

St.  Mark. 


News  from  Mont- 
real. 


rivers  which  we  likewise  desired  to  erect  upon  our 
lands, —  although  last  year  they  had  decreed 
in  the  Council  to  give  us  two  thousand  livres 
therefor,  which,  however,  had  not  been  re- 
ceived. It  was  decided  that  it  would  be  better 
to  erect  this  building  at  our  own  expense,  for 
the  aforesaid  reason ;  and  that  we  should  not 
press  the  actual  payment  of  the  aforesaid  2 
thousand  livres. 

On  the  1 8th,  the  day  after  Easter,  the  re- 
turn of  father  Druilletes,  in  good  health. 

On  the  25th,  St.  Mark's  Day,  we  made  no 
procession,  but  we  were  satisfied  with  the 
litany  after  Vespers.  About  this  Day,  the 
little  river  St.  Charles  became  open. 

On  the  27th,  fontarabie"*  arrived  from 
montreal :  I  was  at  Sillery,  where  I  was 
making  a  visitation,  and  I  gave  the  6th  and 
last  exhortation  there. 

On  the  30th,  robert  le  Coq  left  for  3  rivers.   Departure  of  robert. 
with    Martin    grouvel's^    Shallop    and   some 
Canoes. 

MAY. 

On  the  3rd,  father  lyonne  left  with  the  sav-   Departure  of  father 
ages  for  the  mission  of  Tadoussac  and  gasp^.    lyonne  for  Tadousac. 

On  the  9th,  at  evening,  our  brother  Jaques 
ratel  arrived  from  3  rivers.  They  brought 
word  of  the  capture  of  an  yroquois,  who  was 
telling  much  news. 

On    the    nth,  we    left    for    3    rivers,   a-iiev  Journey  to  3  rivers. 
having  heard  of  the  first  massacres  —  of   two 
men  —  and  plunder  by  the  yroquois  in  these 
districts,  committed  on  that  very  Day,  about 


Our  brother  ratel 
arrives. 


H 


r 


42 


LES  RELA  TIONS  DES  j£.SUITES  [Vol.  36 


Diuers  accidens 

6- 

Premiers  massacres 

aux  quartiers  de 

Quebek 


diuers  malheurs. 


Eschange  de  terre 
aux  3.  rtuteres. 

joo.  arpens  en  Com- 
mune ,  .  .force. 


a  I'habitaon  de  laques  Maheu;  nvf  reuinsmes 
a  Quebek  le  lendemain  12.  a  cause  du  mauuais 
temps,  &  en  repartismes  le  14.  &  arriuasmes 
aux  3.  riu.  le  19.  apres  auoir  seiourn^  4.  lours 
au  Cap  a  I'arbre.  Nvf  estions  3.  le  p.  bres- 
sany  &  le  p.  Andr6  richar  &  moy ;  le  p.  richar 
partist  le  lendemain  de  noe  arriuee  ou  deux 
lours  apres,  &  arriua  a  montreal  le  mesme 
lour;  d'ou  le  lendemain  partit  le  p.  dequen 
qui  reuint  auec  moy  des  3.  riu.  p*".  aller  a 
Tadousac. 

Pendant  nostre  seiour  aux  3.  riu.  arriua  i"*. 
le  massacre  de  Thomme  de  Petit  sur  nos 
terres  de  beauport  &  I'enterrem^  de  son  fils 
Joseph,  cela  arriua  le  1 3.  &  vn  peu  auparauant 
furent  tu^s  vers  la  riuiere  de  Champlain 
deux  sauuages  «&  deux  autres  blesses:  Et 
Enfin  vint  la  nouuelle  de  la  deffaite  des  guer- 
riers  Algonquains;  &  la  perte  par  naufrage 
du  bon  Charles  &  de  12.  autres  reuenans  de 
Tadousac. 

Aux  3.  riu.  se  traita  1' affaire  de  1' eschange 
de  nostre  Concession  proche  de  cinq  cents  Arpens 
p"".  en  faire  Vne  Commune  ou  prairie;  en  autant 
de  terre  au  dessvf ;  si  nvf  [ne]  I'eussions  fait, 
on  nvf  y  eut  contraint,  &  y  en  auoit  eu  de 
grosses  menaces  de  la  part  du  gouuern''.  la 
chose  fut  Conclue  ainsy  qu'elle  se  voira  dans 
I'Acte,  cela  fut  accorde,  coe  il  e  apres  plu- 
sieurs  Consultes  ou  estoient  les  pp.  buteux, 
bressany,  dequen,  P.  Piiart,  bailloquet. 


I 


r 


1660] 


JOURNAL  DES  PP.  J&SUITES 


43 


4  o'clock  in  the  morning,  at  the  settlement  of 
Jaques  Maheu.  We  came  back  to  Quebek  the 
next  day,  the  i2th,  on  account  of  the  bad 
weather;  we  left  again  on  the  14th,  and  ar- 
rived at  3  rivers  on  the  19th,  after  having 
sojourned  4  Days  at  Cap  a  I'arbre.  We  were 
3, —  father  bressany,  father  Andre  richar,  and 
I.  Father  richar  left  on  the  day  after  our 
arrival,  or  two  Days  later,  and  arrived  at 
montreal  on  the  same  Day, —  whence,  on  the 
next  day,  father  dequen  started,  who  came 
back  with  me  from  3  rivers,  to  go  to  Tadousac. 

During  our  sojourn  at  3  rivers,  there  hap- 
pened, I  St,  the  murder  of  Petit' s  man  on 
our  lands  at  beauport,  and  the  burial  of  his 
son  Joseph.  That  occurred  on  the  13th;  and, 
a  little  before,  two  savages  were  killed  toward 
the  river  of  Champlain,  and  two  others 
wounded.  Finally,  came  the  news  of  the 
defeat  of  the  Algcnquain  warriors,  and  the 
loss,  by  shipwreck,  of  the  good  Charles**  and 
of  12  others,  coming  back  from  Tadousac. 

At  3  rivers,  the  business  was  transacted 
concerning  the  exchange  of  our  Grant, — 
nearly  five  hundred  Ar pent s,  in  order  to  make  A 
Common  or  meadoxv  of  it, —  for  as  much  land 
above.  If  we  had  not  done  so,  they  would 
have  constrained  us  to;  and  there  had  been 
loud  threats  of  this  on  the  part  of  the  govern- 
or. The  matter  was  Settled  as  it  appears  in 
the  Deed.  That  was  granted  as  it  now 
stands,  after  several  Consultations, —  at  which 
were  present  fathers  buteux,  bressany,  de- 
quen, Pierre  Pijart,  and  bailloquet. 


Various  accidents, 

and 

First  massacres 

in  the  region  of 

Quebek. 


Sundry  misfortunes. 


Exchange  of  land  at 
J  rivers. 


joo  arpents  as  Com- 
mon land; 
compulsion. 


I 


r 


I 


44 


LES  RELA  TIONS  DES  JASUITES  [Vol.  86 


depart  du  pere 
bressany   .   .   . 


nde  retour. 


feste  Dieu 


''     I 


le  1 8.  partit  le  p  Druilletes  auec  M.  bourdon 
de  Qiiebek. 

lUiN.  1650. 

Et  le  p.  bressany,  noe  f.  feuuille,  robert  le 
Coq,  auec  deux  domestiques  lean  boyer,  & 
Charles  Amyot;  &  25.  ou  30.  frangois  mar- 
chans  &  autant  de  sauuages  en  22.  ou  23. 
Canots  partirent  des  3.  riu,  escort^s  de  deux 
Chaloupes  le  mardy  de  la  Pentecoste  7.  de 
luin:  nvf  en  repartismes  le  10.  &  fusmes  a 
Quebek  le  12.  le  p.  partit  de  Montreal  le  15. 

L'ordre  de  la  procession  du  S^  Sacrement 
fut  celuy-cy.  Les  Clochetes,  la  baniere,  la 
Croix,  &  deux  Enfans  auec  chandel.  d'argent 
&  surplis  a  cost6  (il  les  faut  aduertir  de  bonne 
heure  p^  se  pouruoir  de  coronnes  de  fiend's) 
Les  sauuages  le  rang  des  Enfans  &  des 
femmcs  ferme  par  Mad.  de  Monceaux  &  Ma- 
demoys.  de  repentigny  qui  les  conduisoient, 
suiuoient  les  hommes  qui  estoient  conduits 
par  le  p.  duperon  en  surplis  &  estoUe  (les 
sauuages  vinrent  trop  tard  ce  qui  apporta 
vn  peu  de  Confusion,  on  ne  laissa  pas  de 
commencer) 

les  Torches,  puis  les  chantres  laiques,  M. 
de  S'.  Sauueur  en  chape  auec  Cierge  a  la  main ; 
puis  M^  Vignar  aussy  seul  en  Chasuble,  en 
suite  le  p.  la  place  &  le  p.  Vimon;  puis  deux 
Anges  auec  chandeliers  a  la  main,  &  vn  petit 
sauuage  qu'ils  tenoient  de  I'autre,  lesquels 
sauuages  portoient  vn  petit  cierge:    Puis  le 


1660] 


JOURNAL  DES  PP.  //^SUITES 


46 


On  the  1 8th,  father  Druilletes  set  out,  with 
Monsieur  bourdon,  from  Quebek. 

JUNE,  1650. 

Father  bressany,  our  brother  feuville,  robert  Departure  0/  father 
le  Coq, — with  two  domestics,  Jean  boyer  and  bressany. 

Charles  Amyot,  —  and  25  or  30  french  traders, 
and  as  many  savages  in  22  or  23  Canoes,  left 
3  rivers,  escorted  by  two  Shallops,  on  tues- 
day  in  Whitsun-week,  the   7th  of  June.     We  Our  return. 

departed  thence  on  the  loth,  and  were  at 
Quebek  on  the  12th.  The  father  started  from 
Montreal  on  the  1 5th. 

The  order  of  the  procession  of  the  Blessed  Corpus  Christi. 
Sacrament  was  as  follows:  The  Bells,  the 
banner,  the  Cross,  and  two  Boys  beside  it, 
with  silver  candlesticks  and  surplices  (they 
must  be  notified  early,  so  as  to  provide  them- 
selves with  wreaths  of  flowers).  Then  came 
the  savages,  and  the  line  of  Boys  and  women, 
closed  by  Madame  de  Monceaux  and  Made- 
moyselle  de  repentigny,  who  led  them;  the 
men  followed,  who  were  led  by  father  dupe- 
ron,  in  surplice  and  stole.  (The  savages  came 
too  late,  which  occasioned  a  little  Confusion ; 
we  nevertheless  proceeded.) 

Then  came  the  Torches,  then  the  lay  choris- 
ters; Monsieur  de  St.  Sauveur  with  cope, —  a 
Taper  in  his  hand;  —  then  Monsieur  Vignar, 
also  alone,  with  Chasuble;  next  father  la 
place  and  father  Vimon;  then  two  Angels, 
each  with  a  candlestick  in  one  hand,  and  a 
little  savage  whom  he  led  with  the  other, — 
each  savage  bearing  a  small  taper.     Then  the 


\ 


f 


If 


fuite  de  francois 


46 


LES  RELATIONS  DES  J  ^.SUITES  [Vol.  36 


Diacre  scul  en  dalmatiq.  portant  La  bourse  en 
suite  deux  de  nos  ff.  auec  Encensoirs  fumans; 
puis  le  dajz  port6  par  M.  de  Tilly,  M.  gode- 
froy  des  3.  riu.  M.  de  Maure;  &  lean  baptiste 
qui^estoit  fort  mal  habille,  scauoir,  auec  vne 
vieille  Couuerture ;  aux  deux  cost^s  du  prestre 
qui  portoit  le  S'.  Sacrement  deux  de  nos  ff  en 
surplis  c         c  cierges. 

Get  orc-e  e  fort  bon  mais  il  ne  fut  pas  bien 
gardtS  quoad  modu,  car  ils  se  marchoient  sur 
les  talons  les  Vns  des  autres,  le  mal  venoit 
1°'.  des  deux  ff.  qui  portoient  les  encen.soirs 
fumans  qui  alloient  trop  viste  &  ne  prenoient 
pas  garde  a  se  tenir  vis  a  vis  I'vn  de  I'autre, 
&  sic  de  aliis. 

Au  I*^  reposoir  le  dixit  dominvf  en  faux 
bourdon,  &  d°^  saluu  fac  rege;  aux  Hospital. 
9.  articles  du  nom  de  lesvf  &  o  salutaris 
hostia '        K  Vrsul*^  autant 

on  v^  .bua  les  sauuages  en  plusieurs 
endroits. 

En  ce  mesme  temps  quatre  Domestiques  de 
M.  du  Herisson  des  3.  riu.  s'e  tant  eschapds 
de  sa  maison  arriuerent  vis  a  vis  du  Cap  rouge, 
en  deux  Canots  dans  lesquels  ils  auoient 
Couuerture  fusils  &c.  ils  firent  semblans  de 
venir  p''.  quelque  affaire,  mais  La  nuit  s'estant 
euad^s  ne  furent  plvf  veus. 

le  15.  au  soir  arriua  vn  Huron  des  3.  riu. 
nomme  Skandahietsi  qui  disoit  estre  enuoy6 
des  yroquois  auec  des  coliers  p*".  faire  la  paix 


'J! 


1660J 


JOURNAL  DES  PP.  J&SUITES 


47 


Deacon  alone,  in  dalmatic,  bearing  The  purse; 
next,  two  of  our  brethren  with  smoking 
Censers;  then  the  canopy,  borne  by  Monsieur 
de  Tilly, ^  Monsieur  godefroy  of  3  rivers, 
Monsieur  de  Maure,  and  Jean  baptiste,  who  was 
very  poorly  clad, — to  wit,  in  an  old  Blanket. 
On  each  side  of  the  priest  who  bore  the 
Blessed  Sacrament,  walked  two  of  our  breth- 
ren, in  surplices  and  with  tapers. 

This  order  is  very  good,  but  it  was  certainly 
not  observed  quoad  modiim,  for  they  marched 
on  One  another's  heels.  The  trouble  came 
ist  from  the  two  brethren  who  bore  the  smok- 
ing censers;  these  went  too  fast,  and  did  not 
take  care  to  keep  abreast  of  each  other,  et  sic 
de  aliis. 

At  the  1st  temporary  altar,  we  sang  the 
dixit  dominus  in  faux-bourdon,  and  dotnine 
salvum  fac  regem;  at  the  Hospital  nuns',  9 
articles  of  the  litany  of  the  name  of  Jesus, 
and  0  salutaris  hostia;  the  same  at  the  Ursu- 
lines'. 

We  distributed  the  savages  at  several  places. 

At  this  same  time,  four  Domestics  of 
Monsieur  du  Herisson's,^  at  3  rivers,  having 
escaped  from  his  house,  arrived  opposite  Cap 
rouge  in  two  Canoes,  in  which  they  had  Blan- 
kets, guns,  etc.  They  pretended  to  come  on 
some  business;  but,  having  slipped  away  in 
The  night,  they  were  not  seen  again. 

On  the  15th,  at  evening,  arrived  a  Huron 
from  3  rivers,  named  Skandahietsi,  who  said 
that  he  was  sent  by  the  yroquois  with  [porce- 
lain] collars  to  make  peace  with  the  french. 


il 


Flight  of   some 
french. 


\ 


I 


48 


LES  REI.A  TIONS  DKS  /^SUITES  [Vol.  35 


mi, 


'i| 


<    I 


Justice  de  louys 
Skandahietsi  huron 


M'.  La  gouujrnante 

Et  La  D.  de 

monceaux 

Enseuelisseni  vn 

huron  supplt<-U  — 


Visite  de  I' hospital 


depart  du  p.  de  quen 

&*  des  barques  des 

Habitans. 


auec  les  franyois;  &  que  les  coliens  estoient 
caches  a  la  petite  riuiere  proche  des  3.  riu. 
qu'il  les  auoit  cach^  la  crainte  que  les  Algon- 
quains  ne  s'en  apergeussent,  il  se  coupa  en 
plusieurs  choses  estant  interrog^,  ce  qui  fit 
qu'on  le  mit  en  prison ;  &  qu'on  enuoya  querir 
les  Algonq.  &  Hurons  p"".  scauoir  ce  qu'il  y 
auoit  a  faire  en  tel  cas ;  //  fut  lugd  digne  de 
mort;  il  fut  done  biHj'tis^  \q  20;  &  nomme  louys 
sans  qu'il  sceut  encores  s'il  deuoit  viure  ou 
mourir:  le  lendemain  21.  il  fut  conduit  au 
Carqan  par  le  boureau  &  le  sergent,  &  laisse  a 
la  dispdon  des  Hurons  &  Algonquains  vn 
Huron  nomme  henheonsa,  luy  donna  deux 
coups  de  Hache  sur  la  teste  &  le  tua  sur  le 
champ,  il  fut  enseueli  par  Mad.  la  gouuer- 
nante,  &  Madame  de  Monceaux:  &  vn  autre 
Huron  nomme  h'tarahon  fit  vne  longue  harague 
p*".  lustifier  I'affaire,  &  se  rendre  caution  que 
sa  nation  approuueroit  grandem'.  le  tout : 

Ce  mesme  21.  le  fis  la  Visite  a  I'hospital  y 
allant  dii"e  la  messe,  &  parlant  en  particulier 
a  toutes  les  religieuses;  ie  n'y  entre  pas  ny 
ne  vis  les  Comptes  ayant  veu  qu'on  n'y  pas 
beaucoup  d'Inclinaon. 

Ce  mesme  21.  partit  le  p.  deque  p''.  aller  a 
Tadousac  dans  la  barque  de  Martin  grauel ;  & 
le  lendemain  partit  la  barque  de  M.  godefroy; 
toutes  deux  p''.  faire  fortune  par  la  voye  de 
la  nauigation,  &  du  Commerce;  i'escriuis  au 
p.  Charles  par  cette  voye. 


ill  ! 


1660] 


JOURNAL  DES  PP.  jASUITES 


49 


and  that  the  collars  were  hidden  at  the  little 
river  near  3  rivers, —  adding  that  he  had  hid- 
den them  for  fear  that  the  Algonquains  should 
perceive  them.  He  contradicted  himself  in 
several  points,  when  questioned;  in  conse- 
quence, he  was  put  in  prison,  and  we  sent  for 
the  Algonquains  and  Hurons,  in  order  to 
know  what  v^ras  to  be  done  in  such  a  case. 
He  %vas  Judged  tvorthy  of  death;  he  was  accord- 
ingly baptized  on  the  20th,  and  named  louys, 
without  ?"■  yet  knowing  whether  he  were  to 
live  or  to  die.  The  next  day,  the  2  ist,  he  was 
led  to  the  Carcan "  by  the  executioner  and  the 
sergeant,  and  left  to  the  will  of  the  Hurons 
and  Algonquains.  A  Huron,  named  henhe- 
onsa,  gave  him  two  blows  with  a  Hatchet  on 
his  head,  and  killed  him  on  the  spot.  He 
was  buried  by  Madame  the  governor's  wife 
and  Madame  de  Monceaux;  and  another  Hu- 
ron, named  Outarahon,  made  a  long  harangue 
to  Justify  the  affair,  and  to  guarantee  that  his 
nation  would  thoroughly  approve  all  that  was 
done. 

On  this  same  21st,  I  made  the  Visitation  at 
the  hospital, —  going  thither  to  say  mass,  and 
talking  in  private  with  all  the  nuns.  I  did  not 
go  in,  or  see  the  Accounts, — having  noticed 
that  they  had  not  much  Inclination  for  this. 

On  this  same  21st,  father  dequen  started  to 
go  to  Tadousac,  in  Martin  gravel's  bark;  and, 
the  rext  day,  Monsieur  godefroy's  bark 
sailed, — both  to  make  fortunes  in  the  way  of 
navigation  and  Trade.  I  wrote  to  father 
Charles  by  this  medium. 


Justice    upon    louys 

Skandahietsi, 

a  huron. 


Madame  The  govern- 
or's  wife.  And  The 
Lady    de    monceaux 
Bury  an  executed 
huron. 


Visitation  at  the 
hospital. 


Departure  of  father 

de  quen  and  of  the 

Habitans'  barks. 


If 


\ 


1  M 


I 


1 

m 


50 


j*res  nouu,  de 
/ranee. 


V^ 


feu  de  la  St.  lean. 


Nouuelles  de  f  ranee 
coffre  aux  Lettres. 


La  Chapelle 


Yroguois 
Massacre  de  fran. 


LES  RELATIONS  DES  JESUITES  [Vol.35 


le  22.  premieres  nouuelles  de  f ranee  par  vn 
matelot  du  bord  du  Cap  lammes  qui  estoit 
dans  le  S*.  Sauueur  perdu  Tan  pa?s6,  dont  32. 
personnes  se  sauuerent  en  trois  chaloupes 
dont  I'vne  arriua  a  I'lsbonne. 

le  23.  le  feu  de  la  S*.  lean  duquel  ie  m' ex- 
cuse preuoyant  qu'on  m'y  fairoit  mettre  le 
feu  a  r ordinaire,  &  ne  iugeant  pas  a  propjs 
de  laisser  courir  cette  coustume  qui  n'auoit 
point  est^  pratiqu^e  du  temps  de  J/*",  de 
Montmagny;  ce  fut  M.  le  gouuern''.  qui  y  mit 
le  feu;  le  P.  la  place  y  assista  en  surplis 
&  Estolle  auec  S*.  Martin  p''.  y  chanter  le 
Te  Deu. 

1650.   lUILLET. 

Le  5.  sur  les  9.  h.  du  soir  arriua  buissot  & 
le  p.  Lyonne  qui  apporterent  le  Coffre  des 
lettres  de  france,  &  la  nouuelle  de  I'approche 
du  I",  nauire  enuoy^  par  M.  roz€e  &  Guenet 
lequel  arriua  le  10. 

Le  II.  on  commenga  a  trauailler  aux  f onde- 
mens  de  la  Chapelle. 

Le  14.  arriua  le  petit  vaisseau  de  M.  giffar. 

Et  le  28,  le  P.  Superb  des  Hurons  auec 
toute  sa  bande  I'histoire  se  trouuera  dans  la 
relaon  &  dans  les  Archiues. 

AOUST 

le  10.  arriua  la  nouuelle  de  la  prise  ou 
massacre  de  9.  franjois  aux  3.  riu.  par  les 
Yroquois 


1650] 


JOURNAL  DES  PP.  /^SUITES 


61 


On  the  22nd,  the  first  news  from  france 
came  by  a  sailor  from  the  vessel  of  Captain 
Jammes,  who  was  in  the  St.  Sauvetir,  which 
was  lost  last  year, — wherefrom  32  persons 
escaped  in  three  shallops,  one  of  which  arrived 
at  risbonne  [Lisbon]. ^'^ 

On  the  23rd,  they  lit  St.  John's  bonfire, — 
from  which  I  excused  myself,  foreseeing  that 
they  would  have  me  start  the  fire  as  usual, 
and  not  judging  it  proper  to  encourage  this 
custom  —  which  had  not  been  practiced  in  the 
time  of  Monsieur  de  Montmagny .  Monsieur  the 
governor  was  the  one  who  started  the  fire; 
Father  la  place  was  present  in  surplice  and 
Stole,  with  St.  Martin  to  sing  the  Te  Deum. 

1650,  JULY. 

On  the  5th,  about  9  o'clock  in  the  evening, 
arrived  buissot "  and  father  Lyonne ;  they 
brought  the  Chest  of  letters  from  france,  and 
news  of  the  approach  of  the  ist  ship, —  sent 
by  Monsieur  rozee  and  Guenet,^''  —  which 
arrived  on  the  loth. 

On  the  nth,  work  was  begun  on  the  foun- 
dations of  the  Chapel. 

On  the  14th  arrived  the  small  vessel  of 
Monsieur  giffar ; 

And,  on  the  28th,  the  Father  Superior  of  the 
Hurons,  with  all  his  company ;  the  narrative 
will  be  found  in  the  relation  and  the  Archives. 

AUGUST. 

On  the  loth  arrived  the  news  of  the  capture 
or  massacre  of  9  frenchmen,  at  3  rivers,  by 
the  Yroquois. 


ist  news  from 
france. 


i 


St.  John's  bonfire. 


■  1 


News  from  france. 


Letter-box. 


The  Chapel. 


Yroquois. 
Massacre  of 
frenchmen. 


i 


IW    ^ 


62 


LES  RELA  TIONS  DES  JllSUITES  [Vol.  36 


'■r 


retour  du  p.  Druil- 
letes  de  Tadousac. 

lour  de  V Assoption. 


Mort  de  robert  le 
Coq. 


Suffrages. 


depart  du  vaisseau 
de  la  rochelle 


arriu^e  de  n*"^ /. 
Uegeois. 


oraison  de  40.  heures. 
a  la  St.  Angus  tin. 


le  12.  on  partit  de  Quebek  pour  le  secours 

le  II.  fut  le  retour  du  p.  Druilletes  de 
Tad«sak. 

le  15.  se  fit  vne  procession  solemnelle  dont 
I'ordre  est  icy  insert  dans  vn  papier  a  part  le 
reste  alia  coe  Les  annees  precedentes. 

le  22.  arriua  la  nouuelle  de  la  mort  de  robert 
le  coq  &  de  la  blessure  de  plusieurs  autres 
par  les  yroquois  proche  des  3.  riu.  Ton 
Intima  au  refectoire  les  suffrages  de  robert 
en  ces  termes,  Tous  les  PP.  diront  6. 
messes.  &  les  ff .  six  Chapelets  potir  feu 
robert  le  Coq  decede  en  ce  pays  au  seruice 
perpetuel  de  la  Comp*^.  &  le  lendemain  se 
dit  la  messe  pour  luy.  ce  fut  le  20.  qu'il 
fut  t\x€. 

Le  23.  partirent  par  le  petit  vaisseau  de  la 
rochelle,  le  p.  pierre  piiart,  le  p.  greslon,  & 
le  p.  fr.  duperon,  le  Sieur  gendron,  Joseph 
boursier,  dit  desforges,  Louys  le  boeme,  & 
louys  Pinar,  &  Michel. 

le  dernier  d'Aoust  arriua  noe  f.  liegeois, 
qui  nvf  apporta  les  nouuelles  du  dernier  vais- 
seau qui  estoit  proche.  Ce  vaisseau  mouilla 
lancre  le  8.  de  Sep^  deuant  Quebek. 

A  la  S*.  Augustin  les  Vrsulines  firent  les 
40.  h.  4  lours  deuant,  &  les  hospital.  3.  lours 
apres  la  feste  &  le  Dimache  qui  estoit  le 
lour  de  S*.  Augustin  se  fit  vne  procession  a 
I'ordinaire  aux  2.  maisons  religieuses. 


Ill 


1650]'         JOURNAL  DES  PP.  /^SUITES 


68 


On  the  1 2th,  men  started  from  Quebek  to 
give  assistance. 

On  the  nth,  father  Druilletes  returned 
from  Tadousak. 

On  the  15th,  a  solemn  procession  was  made, 
the  order  of  which  is  inserted  here  on  a  sepa- 
rate paper :  '^  the  rest  occurred  as  in  The  for- 
mer years. 

On  the  22nd  arrived  the  news  of  the  death 
of  robert  le  coq,  and  of  the  wounding  of 
several  others  by  the  yroquois  near  3  rivers. 
We  Announced  at  the  refectory  the  suffrages 
for  robert,  in  these  terms:  "  All  the  Fathers 
will  say  6  masses,  and  the  brethren  six  Rosa- 
ries, for  the  late  robert  le  Coq,  deceased  in 
this  country  in  the  perpetual  service. of  the 
Society;  "  and,  the  next  day,  the  mass  for 
him  was  said.     He  was  killed  on  the  20th.'* 

On  the  23rd  there  sailed,  by  the  small 
vessel  of  la  rochelle,  father  pierre  pijart,  father 
greslon,  and  father  fran9ois  duperon;  Sieur 
gendron,  Joseph  boursier,  alias  desforges, 
Louys  le  boeme,  and  louys  Pinar  and  Michel. ^^ 

On  the  last  day  of  August  arrived  our 
brother  liegeois,  who  brought  us  news  of  the 
last  vessel,  which  was  near.  This  vessel 
anchored  before  Quebek  on  the  8th  of  Septem- 
ber. 

At  the  feast  of  St.  Augustine,  the  Ursulines 
observed  the  40  hours,  4  Days  before,  and  the 
hospital  nuns  3  Days  after,  the  feast ;  and  on 
Sunday,  which  was  the  Day  of  St.  Augustine, 
a  procession  was  made,  as  usual,  to  the  2 
religious  houses. 


Father  Druilletes' s 

return  from 

Tadousac. 

Day  of  the 

Assumption. 


Death  of  robert  le 
Coq. 


Suffrages, 


Departure  of  the 
vessel  of  la  rochelle. 


Arrival  of  our 
brother  liegeois. 


40  hours'  devotion  on 
St.  Augustine's  day. 


% 


:  m 


) 


J  : 


54 


LES  RELA  TIONS  DES  jASUITES  [Vol.  36 


'      \ 


Depart  de  plus,  des 
nrei  pour  f ranee 


SEPTEMB.    1650. 

le  premier  partit  le  p"".  Driiilletes  auec  lean 
guerin  p''.  les  Abnaquiois;  Noel  estoit  le 
Condiicteur. 

le  8.  arriua  le  dernier  vaisseau  ou  estoit  M. 
d'ailleboust  le  leune,  Madem.  Manse  &c. 

le  19.  au  soir  fut  noye  Laual  Commis  au 
vaisseau  du  Capit.  Terrier. 

le  2 1 ,  partit  de  Quebek  le  vaisseau  du  Cap. 
Terrier  oil  estoit  le  pere  Lyonne,  le  p.  bonin, 
le  p.  Daran,  nos  ff  Claude  loyer  «&  Nicolas 
Noircler,  Madame  de  Monceaux,  &  deux  de 
nos  Domest.  donnas  bernar  &  rolan. 

le  25.  partit  la  barque  de  Montreal,  ou  estoit 
Mademoyselle  Manse,  &  le  dernier  de  Sept. 
la  fregate  oii  estoit  M.  de  la  poterie. 

OCTOBRE 

le  15.  partirent  les  Hurons  pour  la  guerre. 

le  18.  Noel  retourna  du  voyage  des  Abna- 
quiois &  nvf  apporta  nouuelles  &  lettres 
du  p.  Druilletes,  qui  se  trouueront  dans  les 
Archiues. 

le  mesme  lour  retourna  la  fregate  des  3.  riu. 
dans  laquelle  estoit  le  p.  bailloquet. 

le  22.  partit  le  p.  Charles  Albanel  p*".  son 
voyage  ou  hyuernement  auec  les  sauuages  & 
retourna  le  22  d'Auril. 

NOUEMBRi.    .    .    (P.   RAGUENEAU.) 

Le  iour  des  morts  partit  le  dernier  Nauire, 
dit  le  Chasseur  dans  lequel  estoient  le  R.  P. 


riu. 


d 

(9 


0 

e 
» 

C3 


n       "Tl 

'11  ^" 


2.  m 

«  0 

3  X 

?  > 

■<  z 

n  "  Z 

"  <»  -n 


n 

■1 

n 
a 


-0 


o 

o 


o 

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> 
73 

r 
m 
(/) 

> 

r 

DO 
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z 

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r"      ^     rv      ?•       i^       ' 


i' 


i 


RZil^SKlSSSii 


Ipi 


I,  1 


ii{  } 


1660] 


JOURNAL  DES  PP.  J  ^SUITES 


56 


SEPTEMBER,    1650. 

On  the  first,  father  Druilletes  left,  with 
Jean  guerin,^"  for  the  Abnaquiois;  Noel  was 
the  Guide. 

On  the  8th  arrived  the  last  vessel,  in  which 
were  the  Young  Monsieur  d'ailleboust,^' 
Mademoyselle  Manse,  etc. 

On  the  19th,  at  evening,  was  drowned  La- 
val, ^^  Agent  on  the  vessel  of  Captain  Terrier. 

On  the  2ist,  Captain  Terrier's  vessel  sailed 
from  Quebek, —  in  which  were  father  Lyonne, 
father  bonin,  and  father  Daran ;  our  brethren 
Claude  Joyer  and  Nicolas  Noircler;  Madame 
de  Monceaux;  and  two  of  our  pledged 
Domestics  —  bernar  and  rolan. 

On  the  25th,  the  Montreal  bark  sailed,  in 
which  was  Mademoyselle  Manse;  and,  the 
last  day  of  September,  the  frigate,  in  which 
was  Monsieur  de  la  poterie. 

OCTOBER. 

On  the  1 5th  the  Hurons  departed  for  the  war. 

On  the  1 8th,  Noel  returned  from  the  jour- 
ney to  the  Abnaquiois,  and  brought  us  news 
and  letters  from  father  Druilletes,  which  will 
be  found  in  the  Archives. 

On  the  same  Day,  the  frigate  returned  from 
3  rivers,  in  which  was  father  bailloquet. 

On  the  22nd,  father  Charles  Albanel  set  out 
for  his  journey,  or  wintering,  with  the  sav- 
ages; ^^  and  he  returned  on  the  22nd  of  April. 

NOVEMBER.    .    .    (PAUL  RAGUENEAU.) 


On  all  souls'  day,  the  last  Ship  sailed,  called   Departure  of  several 
the   Chasseur, —  in  which  were  the  Reverend     of  ours  for  f ranee. 


.  > 


I 


15 


m 


k 


I 


T 


56 


LES  RELA  TIONS  DES  /l^.SUITES  [Vol.  36 


'i 


I 


Le  P.  Joseph  du 
Perron  — 


Le  Pere  Poncet 


Pesche  du  Loup 
maritt. 


I       / 


Hierosme  Lallemant  superieur.  le  P.  loseph 
Bressany,  &  n.  f.  Liegeois.  loseph  Molere 
&  Christophle  Renant,  domestici  perpetui, 
cum  spe  ingrediendi  in  societatem.  M""  de 
Tilly  &  M.  Godefroy  estoient  de  la  partie,  & 
M*"  Bourdon. 

Le  P.  Paul  Ragueneau  fut  laisse  Vice 
superieur. 

Le  mesme  iour  partit  la  barque  pour  Mont- 
real, qui  mena  le  P.  loseph  Du  Peron  pour 
les  Trois  Riuieres. 

Le  7^"**^  i' allay  faire  la  visite  au  Cap  tour- 
mente,  a  Beaupr^  a  Beauport,  au  Cap  rouge, 
&  repassant  par  Sillery,  i' allay  a  la  coste  de 
S**.  Geneuieue.  &  ne  retournay  a  Quebec, 
que  le  quinziesme.  i'entendy  enuiron  90 
Confessions  generales  &  c.  le  P.  Poncet 
m'accompagnoit,  &  lean  Caron. 

le  10*"*.  Simon  Guyon,  Couruille  &  Lespin^ 
partent  par  canot  pour  la  Chasse  de  Loups 
Marins,  vers  Tadoussac.  selon  le  conuenu 
par  vn  contract  d'association  auec  M*^  de  Tilly, 
M*"  Buissot,  &  M*"  Godefroy ;  lequel  a  en  ordre 
allant  en  france,  d'obtenir  le  droit  de  cette 
Pesche  ou  chasse  de  Loups  Marins  a  {blank 
space]  de  Messieurs  de  la  Compagnie.  &  d'y 
associer  pour  vn  huitiesme  M""  Rozee.  .  .  . 
Outre  ce  dessein  de  la  pesche  du  Loup  marin, 
ils  pretendent  attirer  Ik  les  Sauuages,  &  y 
faire  bonne  traite  de  Castors.  &  pour  cet 
effet  les  susdits  Couruille,  Lespine  &  Simon 


I' 


1650] 


JOURNAL  DES  PP.  jftSUITES 


67 


Father  Joseph  dit 
Perron. 


Father  Poncet. 


Father  Hierosme  Lallemant,  superior;  Father 
Joseph  Bressany  and  our  brother  Liegeois; 
Joseph  Molere  and  Christophle  Renant,**  do- 
mestici  perpetui,  cum  spe  ingrediendi  in  societatcm. 
Monsieur  de  Tilly  and  Monsieur  Godefroy 
were  of  the  party,  also  Monsieur  Bourdon. 

Father  Paul  Ragueneau  was  left  as  Vice- 
superior. 

On  the  same  day,  the  bark  for  Montreal 
sailed,  which  conveyed  Father  Joseph  Du 
Peron  to  Three  Rivers. 

On  the  7th,  I  went  to  make  the  visitations 
at  Cap  tourmente,  Beaupr(5,  Beauport,  and 
Cap  rouge;  and,  again  passing  by  Sillery,  I 
went  to  the  hill  of  Ste.  Genevieve,  and  did  not 
return  to  Quebec  until  the  fifteenth.  I  heard 
about  90  general  Confessions,  etc.  Father 
Poncet  accompanied  me,  and  Jean  Caron. 

On  the  lotli,  vSimon  Guyon,  Courville,  and  Fishery  of  the  Seal. 
Lespine  start  by  canoe  for  the  Seal- Hunt 
toward  Tadoussac,  according  to  the  agreement 
by  a  contract  of  association  with  Monsieur  de 
Tilly,  Monsieur  Buissot,  and  Monsieur  Gode- 
froy. This  la.st  has  received  orders  to 
go  to  f ranee,  to  obtain  the  right  of  this 
Fishery  or  hunt  for  Seals  at  [blank  space]  from 
Messieurs  of  the  Company;  and  to  associate 
therein,  as  an  eighth  member,  Monsieur 
Rozee.  .  .  .  Besides  this  scheme  for  the 
Seal-fishery,  they  intend  to  attract  the  Savages 
thither  and  thus  carry  on  a  good  trade  in 
Beavers;  and  to  this  end  the  aforesaid  Cour- 
ville, Lespine,  and  Simon  Guyon  had  made  a 
voyage    into   the   Sagn6,    in   order   to   make 


'I 


I 


:l       11 


1 

■A 


:  r 


if   \ 


88 


LES  RELA  TJONS  DES  j£SUITES  [Vol.  85 


7.  Hurons  pris  par 
Les  Iroquois, 


LaSrst  DBiqi 


Guyon  auoient  fait  vn  voyage  dans  le  Sagn6, 
pour  Her  la  partie  auec  les  sauuages,  &  ietter 
le  hame9on  de  cette  traite.  Ledit  voyage  se 
r»t  Dans  le  moys  d'octobre,  &  ils  en  rappor- 
terent  enuiron  300  {blank  space]  Castors. 

Le  22.  La  barque  qui  auoit  est^  enuoy<5e  a 
Montreal,  pour  y  porter  I'anguille  &c.  n'ayant 
pii  monter  plus  loin  que  les  trois  Riuieres, 
retourna  icy  a  Quebec.  le  lac  S'.  Pierre 
commengoit  a  se  glacer,  &  le  vent  n'estoit  pas 
fauorable  pour  ce  voyage.  Cette  barque  ap- 
porta  la  nouuelle  de  la  prise  de  7.  Hurons  de 
la  bande  de  Honda' Kont,  par  les  Annie' ron- 
nons,  qui  n'auoient  que  trois  canots,  et 
n'estoient  que  17  ou  18  en  nombre.  ces 
Hurons  pris  furent  AtieronhonK,  OtraXahe, 
Ztio'ton,  Otrihore,  Sa,o8endoiaK,  Tehonan- 
de'ton  &  {blank  space],  ils  furent  pris  a  la  veue 
de  Montreal.  &  de  dix  canots  Hurons,  qui 
prirent  la  fuite. 

Le  22**"'  i'allay  faire  vne  seconde  visite  au 
cap  rouge,  &c.  et  en  retournay  le  24*"**.  auec 
le  P.  Poncet. 

DECEMBRI. 

Le  6^*"*.  Armand  &  Tichion«amie  partent 
pour  les  Trois  Riuieres  chargez  des  ordres 
de  M*^  ' '  G-ouuernenr  pour  la  fortification  de 
It  r'  T  la  deffense  contre  les  Iroquois. 

.a.  soeur  de  S*.   Dominique  fit  sa 
Proi  i.     iUx  Vrsulines,    celebrante    Patre 

De  yuen,  concionante  Patre  Chastelain.     M"" 


1660] 


JOURNAL  DES  PP.  /^SUITES 


S9 


7  Hurons  taken  by 
The  Iroquois. 


arrangements  with  the  savages,  and  cast  the 
hook  for  this  trade.  The  said  voyage  took 
place  In  the  month  of  October;  and  they 
broiij^ht  back  about  300  [blank  space\  Beavers. 

On  the  22nd,  The  bark  which  had  been  sent 
to  Montreal  to  carry  thither  the  eels,  etc.,  not 
having  been  able  to  ascend  above  three  Riv- 
ers, returned  here  to  Quebec;  lake  St.  Pierre 
was'  beginning  to  freeze,  and  the  wind  was 
not  favorable  for  this  voyage.  This  bark 
brought  news  of  the  capture  of  7  Hurons  of 
the  band  of  Honda' kont,  by  the  Annie' ron- 
nons,  who  had  only  three  canoes,  and  were 
only  17  or  18  in  number.  These  captured 
Hurons  were  Atieronhonk,  Otrawahe,  Etio'ton, 
Otrihore,  Sa,owendoiak,  Tehonande'ton,  and 
[blank  space].  They  were  captured  in  sight  of 
Montreal,  and  of  ten  Huron  canoes,  which 
took  flight. 

On  the  22nd,  I  went  to  make  a  second  visita- 
tion at  cap  rouge,  etc.,  and  returned  on  the 
24th,  with  Father  Poncet. 

DECEMBER. 

On  the  6th,  Armand  and  Tichionwamie  start 
for  Three  Rivers,  charged  with  Monsieur 
the  Governor's  orders  for  the  fortification 
of  the  place,  and  for  its  defense  against  the 
Iroquois. 

On    the    8th,   sister  St.    Dominique*^'  made  Sister st.  Dominique. 
her  Profession    at   the    Ursulines',    celebrante 
Patre   De    Quen,    concionante    Patre    Chastelain. 
Monsieur   the    Governor,    Monsieur    Menoil, 
Monsieur  de  St.  Sauveur,  and  Monsieur  Vignal 


li 


■'l; 


.i 


v\ 


60 


LES  RELATIONS  DES  J&SUITES  [Vol.  85 


>*     f 


\' 


w 


le  Gouuerneur,  M'  Menoil  M"".  de  S*  Sauueur 
&  M'.  Vignal.  vinrent  disner  en  nostre  refec- 
toire.  M""  Lc  Gouuerneur  nous  traitant. 
La  S*'  de  La  passion.  Le  27.  La  soeur  de  La  Passion  fit  sa  profes- 
sion aux  Hospitalieres,  celebrante  P.  Chau- 
monot,  me  concionante  &  admittente  vota. 
M*".  de  S*.  Sauueur  &  M""  Vignal  vinrent  disner 
en  nostre  refectoire,  les  Meres  hospitalieres 
no'  ayant  enuoya  de  quoy. 

Le  24"^.  le  P.  Poncet  dit  La  premiere  messe 
a  I'eglise  nouuelle,  &  earn  benedixit. 

Le  P.  Poncet  dit  la  messe  de  mynuit  a  la 
nouuelle  eglise  le  P.  Mercier  ceans,  le  P.  La 
Place  a  1  hospital,  le  P.  Garreau  chez  Martin 
Grouael,  &  moy  chez  M*".  Giffard  a  Beauprrt 
M"".  de  S^  Sauueur  a  la  coste  de  S*^  Geneuieue. 

La  3os«e  Dec.  enuiron  sur  les  vne  ou  deux 
heures  apres  mynuit  le  feu  ayant  pris  dans  la 
boulangerie  aes  Meres  Vrsulines,  toute  leur 
maioon  en  fut  bruslee,  &  a  peine  se  peurent 
elles  sauuer  quasi  nues.  on  ne  pent  rien  sau- 
uer  des  meubles,  sinon  de  la  sacristie. 
La  perte  fut  iug^e  estre  de  quarante  mille 
francs.  Les  Meres  Hospitalieres  les  receu- 
rent  charitablement.  &  nous  taschasmes  de 
les  assister  de  tout  nostre  pouuoir.  Le  me- 
moire  en  sera  fait,  &  insere  cy-apres.  Ce  fut 
de  I'aduis  vniuersel  de  tous  nos  Peres,  qu'on 
iugea  que  la  charit6  nous  obligeoit  de  donner 
ce  secours  a  ces  bonnes  meres. 

Le  2*™*.  iour  de  lanuier  la  Conclusion  fut 


/»■<.  messe  a  L' eglise 

nouuelle 

a  La  benit. 


Le  P.  L.  garreau. 


Incendie  des  Vrsul 
par  Leur  boulan- 
gerie. 


41 


1650] 


J 


roURNAL  DES  PP.  /^SUITES 


61 


came    to    dine  in    our  refectory, —  Monsieur 
The  Governor  treating  us. 

On  the  27th,  sister  de  La  Passion  made  her  Sister  de  La  passion 
profession  at  the  Hospital  nuns',  celebrante 
Patre  Chaumonot,  me  concionante  et  admittente 
vota.  Monsieur  de  St.  Sauveur  and  Mon- 
sieur Vignal  came  to  dine  in  our  refectory, 
the  hospital  Mothers  having  sent  us  the  where- 
withal. 

On  the  24th,  Father  Poncet  said  The  first 
mass  at  the  new  church,  et  earn  benedixit. 

Father  Poncet  said  the  midnight  mass  at 
the  new  church,  Father  Mercier  here,^'*  Fa- 
ther La  Place  at  the  hospital.  Father  Garreau 
at  Martin  Grouvel's,  and  I  at  Monsieur  Gif- 
fard's  at  Beauport;  Monsieur  de  St.  Sauveur 
at  the  hill  of  Ste.  Genevieve. 

On  the  3uth  of  December,  about  one  or  two 
hours  after  midnight,  fire  caught  in  the  bak- 
ery of  the  Ursuline  Mothers,  and  their  whole 
house  was  burned ;  and  with  difficulty  could 
they  escape,  almost  naked.  Nothing  of  the 
furniture  could  be  saved,  except  that  of  the 
sacristy.  .  .  The  loss  was  estimated  at 
forty  thousand  francs.  The  Hospital  Mothers 
received  them  charitably,  and  we  tried  to  assist 
them  to  the  utmost  of  our  power.  The  state- 
ment of  this  aid  will  be  made  and  inserted 
hereinafter.  It  was  by  the  general  opinion  of 
all  our  Fathers,  that  we  decided  that  charity 
obliged  us  to  give  this  assistance  to  these  good 
mothers. 

On  the  2nd  day  of  January,  the  Decision 
was  made,  unanirni  omnium   Patrum   consensu, 


ist  mass  at  The  new 

church.  And  The 

consecration. 


Father  Leonard 
garreau. 


Fire  at  the 

Ursulines\  from 

Their  bakery. 


I* 


i:l 


! 


I 


■      ) 


82 


LEJ  RELA  TIONS  DES  /^SUITES  [Vol.  36 


prise,  vnanimi  omnium  Patrum  consensu,  imo 
&  fratrum,  de  nous  priuer  de  nos  desserts, 
afin  d'en  secourir  ces  bonnes  meres,  qui  ont 
plus  de  necessity  de  ces   douceurs,  que  nous. 


1650] 


JOURNAL  DES  PP.  JASUITES 


63 


into  et  fratrum,  to  deny  ourselves  our  desserts, 
in  order  to  aid  therewith  these  good  mothers, 
who  have  more  need  than  we  of  these  delica- 


cies. 


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:\ 


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1 


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If: 


LXXIV 

Relation  of  1649-^0 

PARIS:  SEBASTIEN  ET  GABRIEL  CRAMOISY,  165 1 


a  :l 


Source  :  in  the  body  of  the  Relation,  we  follow  Lenox 
Library's  copy  of  the  first  issue  (H.  95);  the  letter  of  the 
Mother  Superior,  we  obtain  from  the  Lenox  copy  of  the 
second  issue  (H.  96). 

We  give  herewith  chaps,  i.-xii.;  the  remainder  of  the 
document  will  be  published  in  Volume  XXXVI. 


,1 


1  ill 

t 


1 

.  i 

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i   i 
'  1 1 

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:Ziri 


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il 


RELATION 

DE   CE 

qVI  S'EST  PASSE' 

cn  laMiflioii  desPerqs  de  la  Com" 
pagnic  de  Ies  vs,au)J:luro"?,&  aux 
pais  plus  bas  dc laNouuellc  Fran- 
ce, dcpuis  TEfte  do  Tannce  1(^49, 
"jufques  aTEftc  de  Taniiee  i6§q, 

Enuoycc 

^P^  R.   V.Ctu4VT>EDE  LINGBNDES 

Prottincial  de  U  Compagnit  del^sy  s 

en  U  Prouince  de  France. 

Parle  R.  P.  Pavl  RAGVEjsfEAV,  Su^^  v 
pciicur  cics  MilTions  dc  la  Compagtxic 
dclESVscn  la  Nouuclle  prance,   .» 


A     PARIS, 


Chez 


Imprimcur  ordinaire  du Roy,   ''5  ^^^  i^tficc 
'  ■'      (lacques, 

raux  Cicor 

^  gnes. 


&  dc  la  Rcync  Rcgentc. 

B  T 

Gabkiei  Cramoisy, 


M.     DC.    LI. 
^V^C  PHIVILB  G  E  VV  ROT' 


■  ■•uttAgai 


^>.i..WRi»i.>C!^T  --I  r-mti^. 


f: 


RELATION 

OF 

WHAT    OCCURRED 

in  the  Mission  of  the  Fathers  of  the 
Society  of  Jesus,  among  the  Hurons, 
and  in  the  lower  countries  of  New 
France,  from  the  Summer  of  the  year 
1649,  to  the  Summer  of  the  year  i6jo. 

Sent  to 

REV.  FA  THER  CLA  UDE  DE  LINGENDES, 

Provincial  of  the  Society  of  J  E  s  u  S 

in  the  Province  of  France. 

By  the  Rev.  Father  Paul  Ragueneau, 
Superior  of  the  Missions  of  the  So- 
ciety of  Jesus  in  New  France. 


Print- 
ed by 


PARIS. 

Sebastien   Cramoisy, 

Printer  in  ordinary  to  the  King 

and  the  Queen  Regent, 

AND 

Gabriel  Cramoisv, 

M.    DC.    LI. 

BY   ROYAL    LICENSE. 


rue  saint 
Jacques,  at 
the  Sign  of 
the  storks. 


1  }■  I 


If 


i\ 


I      It 

V 


I 


«• 


Mi 
!i 


70 


L/iS  RELATIONS  DES  J&SUITES        [Vol.  36 


Table  des  Chapitres  contenvs  en  cette  Relation. 

RELATION  de  ce  qui  sejl  paj^i  en  la  Mifiion 
des  Peres  de  la  Compagnie  de  Iesvs,  aux 
Hurons,  pays  de  la  Nouuelle  France,  depuis 
V EJi^    de    Vann^e    1649.    iu/quh    V EJli    de 
Vann^e  1650.    ....       pag.      i. 
Chap.  I.     Du    tranfport    de  la  Mai/on   de  fainte 

Marie  dans  V IJle  de  fain6l  lofeph.  .  .       4 

II.  De  la  MiJ^ion  de  fain6l  lofeph.  .  .       9 

III.  De  la  prife  &  defolation  de  la  MiJJion  de  S. 
lean,  par  les  Iroquois,  &  de  la  mort  du  P. 
Charles  Gamier,  qui  y  ejloit  en  mifiion.  .     25 

IV.  De  la  mort  du  P.  Noel  Chabanel.         .  -55 

V.  De  la  mifiion  de  fain£l  Matthias.  .  .     66 

VI.  De  la  mif^ion  de  fain£l  Charles.  .  .     73 

VII.  De  la  MiJSion  cu  fain6l  Efprit.         .  .     78 

VIII.  De  la  defolation  du  pays  des  Hurons,  au 
Printemps  de  V annde  1650.        .  .  .80 

IX.  De  V ejlablijfemsnt  de  la  Colonie  Huronne  dt 
Kebec.  .  .  .  .  -97 

X.  De  r Eglife  de  S.  lofeph  h  Siller y.        .  .105 

XI.  Des  Sauuages  des  Trois  riuieres,  &  des  Attica- 
megues.  .  .  .  .  .120 

XII.  De  la  Mif/ion  de  fainte  Croix  ii   Tadouffac.    142 

XIII.  De  la  venue  d'vn  Hiroquois  en  France,  &  de 

fa  mort.  .  .  .  ,  -154 


f/ 


1650  J 


RELA  TION  OF  id^if-jo 


n 


Table  of  the  Chapters  contained  in  this  Relation. 


<   ' 


II. 
III. 


RELATION  of  tvhat  occurred  in  the  Mission  of 
the  Fathers  of  the  Society  ^/ J  E  S  U  S  among  the 
Htiroyis,    inhabitants   of  a    country   of  New 
France,  from  the  Slimmer  of  the  year  1649  to 
the  Summer  of  the  year  1650.  .       page      i. 

Chap.  I.      Of  the   removal  of  the  House  of  sainte 

Marie  to  the  Island  of  saint  Joseph,       .  .       4 

Of  the  Mission  of  saint  Joseph.  .  .       9 

Of  the  capture  and  devastation  of  the  Mission 
of  St.  Jean,  by  the  Iroquois;  and  of  the  death 
of  Father  Charles  Gamier,  who  was  missionary 
there.  .  .  .  .  -25 

Of  the  death  of  Father  Noel  Chabanel.  .      55 

Of  the  mission  of  saint  Matthias.        .  .     66 

Of  the  mission  of  saint  Charles.  .  .     73 

Of  the  Mission  of  the  holy  Ghost,     .  .     78 

VIII.      Of  the   devastation    of  the   country  of  the 

Hurons,  in  the  Spring  of  the  year  1650.  .     80 

Of  the  establishment  of  the  Huron  Colony  at 
Kebec.  .  .  .  .  -97 

Of  the  Church  of  St.  Joseph  at  Siller y.  .    105 

Of  the  Savages  at  Three  rivers,  and  the  Atti- 
camegues.  .  .  .  .  .120 

Of  the  Mission  of  the  holy  Cross  at  Tadous- 
sac.       ......    142 

XIII.      Of  the  arrival  of  a  Hiroquois  in  France,  and 

of  his  death.      .  .  .  .  •    ^54 


IV. 
V. 
VI. 
VII 


IX. 

X. 

XI. 

XII. 


f  4 


!i 


n 


LJiS  RELATIONS  DES /^.SUITES         [Vol. 


86 


Lettre  du  P.  Hierofme  Lallemant  au  R.  P.  Claude 

de   Lingendes,    Prouincial  de  la   Compagnie  de 

lESW  s  en  la  Prouince  de  France. 
Lettre  de  la  R.  M.  Superieure  de  V  Hofpital  de  la 

Mifericorde  de  Kebec  en  la  Nouuelle  France,  d. 

Monfteur  N.  Bourgeois  de  Paris. 


172 


178 


A'. 


\ 


1660] 


JiELA  TION  OF  1649-so 


78 


Letter  of  Father  Hierosnte  Lallemant  to  Reverend 
Father  Claude  de  Lingendes,  Provincial  of  the 
Society  c/  J  e  s  u  s  in  the  Province  of  France.    1 72 

Letter  of  the  Reverend Mothtr  Superior  of  the  Hos- 
pital of  Mercy  at  Kebec,  in  New  France,  to 
Monsieur  JV.,  a  Citizen  of  Paris.  .  .178 


vH-, 


?■■  »^ 


\, 


I  \ 


74 


LES  RELATIONS  DES  j£SUITES         [Vol.  88 


[I]  Relation  de  ce  qvi  s'eft  paffe  en   la  Miffion 

des  Peres  de  la  Compagnie  de  lESVS,  aux 

Hurons,  pais  de  la  Nouuelle  France,  . 

depuis  I'Efte  de  I'annee  1649.  iuf- 

qu'a  I'Efte  de  I'annee  16^0. 

Au  R.  P.  Clavue  dk  LiNGKNOEs,  Prouincial  de  la  Compagnie  de 
Iksvs  en  la  Prouince  de  France. 


H 


M 


ON  R.   FERE, 

PAX  CHRIST  I. 
Ce  n'i'Ji  pins  dii  pais  des  Hurons,  que  faddrcjfe 
h  vojlrc  Rcucrcncc  la  Relation  de  ce  qui  s' y  cji  pafsL 
Cette  pauure  Eglife  naijjantc  [2]  qui  parut  il  y  a  vn  an, 
toute  couuertc  de  /on  fang,  opprivu'c  fous  la  cruaut^  des 
Iriquois,  rnnemis  du  nom  de  Dieu  &  de  la  Foy;  a  du 
depuis  continui'  plus  que  iantais  dans  fes  fouffrances :  La 
ph  grande  part  de  nor  tons  Neophytes,  &  quelques-vns  de 
leurs  Fajleurs  ont  fuiuy  le  che'nin  des  premiers,  au  milieu 
des  feux  &  des  flammcs,  iSr  maintenant  font  dans  le  Ciel 
de  compagnie.  Vne  famine  e/pouuentahle  qui  a  regni 
partout,  y  a  mis  la  defolation.  Nous  complons  plus  de 
trois  mille  baptizez  cette  derniere  anm'e:  mais  le  nomhre 
des  morts  ejl plus  grand  q\.e  de  ceux  qui  ont  furuefcu  h  la 
mine  de  Ictir  Patrie.  Les  chofes  ejlant  reduites  h  r extre- 
mity, nous  nous  fommes  veus  obligcz  de  quitter  enfin  vne 
place  qui  ne/loit  plus  tenable,  pour  en  fauuer  au  moins  les 
rejies.  Ce  fut  le  dixie/me  ioiir  du  mois  de  luin  dernier, 
que  nous  forti/mes  de  ces  terres  de  Promifsicn ,  qui  ejloient 
nojlre  Paradis,  &  ok  la  mort  nous  eujl  ejli'  mille  fois  plus 


••   <^, 


\ 


'  \  k-. 


lti5(»J 


RELA  TION  OF  1649-50 


78 


1 1 1  Relation  of  what  occurred  in  the  Mission  of  the 

Fathers  of  the  Society  of  J  E  S  u  S  among  the 

Hurons,  inhabitants  of  a  country  of  New 

France,  from  the  Summer  of  the  year  1 649 

to  the  Summer  of  the  year   16^0. 

'/'('   Rivirend  Father  Ci.addk    dk   Linc.kndes,  Provincial  of  the 
Society  of  Jksus  in  the  Province  of  France. 


\  \ 


)re 
la 


les 

r, 

mt 

>/us 


My  REVEREND  FATHER, 
PAX  CHRISTI. 
It  is  no  longer  from  the  country  of  the  Hurons  that 
I  send  to  your  Reverence  the  Relation  of  tvhat  has  happened 
therein.  The  poor  infant  Church — [2]  which  teas  seen, 
a  year  ago,  bathed  in  its  own  blood,  trodden  down  by  the 
cruelty  of  the  Iroquois,  the  enemies  of  God's  name  and  of 
the  Faith  —  has  since  then  undergone  yet  greater  sufferings. 
The  larger  number  of  our  good  Neophytes,  with  some  of 
their  Pastors,  have  folhnved  through  fire  and  flame  the 
steps  of  their  predecessors,  and  noxv  bear  them  company  in 
Heaven.  A  terrible  famine,  prevalent  everywhere,  has 
wrought  desolation.  We  couni  over  three  thousand  bap- 
tized during  the  last  year;  but  the  dead  outnutnber  those 
who  survive  the  ruin  of  their  native  Land.  Reduced  thus 
to  extremity,  we  found  ourselves  at  last  compelled  to 
relinquish  a  position  that  7vas  no  longer  tenable,  that  zue 
might,  at  least,  save  those  who  remained.  It  was  on  the 
tenth  day  of  last  fune  that  we  to:k  our  departure  from 
this  land  of  Promise,  which  was  to  us  a  Paradise,  and  in 
which  death  zvould  have  been  to  us  a  thousand  times  more 


I 


I  ii 


.-isTif^r* 


:;:l_^ 


76 


LES  RELA  I  I'ONS  DES  /^SUITES  [Vol.  35 


douce,  que  ne  /era  la  vie  en  quelque  lieu  que  nous  puifsions 
ejire.  Mais  il  faut  fuiure  Dieu,  &  iJ  faut  aimer  fes 
conduites,  quelques  oppof^es  qiiellespafoijfent  h  nos  dejirs, 
(t  nos  plus  faintes  esperances,  &  aux  plus  tendres  amours 
de  nojire  coeur.  En  vn  mot,  nous  fommes  defcendus  h 
Kebec,  auec  [3]  quelques  families  Chrejiiennes  de  ces 
pauures  Sauuages,  qui  ont  fuiuy  nojire  retraite;  auec 
lef quels  nous  tafcherons  de  former,  it  Vabry  du  fort  de  nos 
Frangois,  vne  Colonic  Huronne,  s'il  plaiji  a  Nojire 
Seigneur  de  benir  leurs  dejfeins  &  les  nojlres.  Vojlre 
Reucre7ice  verra  le  tout  en  detail,  dans  cette  Relation,  que 
ie  hiy  addrejfe,  la  Juppliant  de  V'  -procurer  les prieres  de 
tous  ceux  qui  ont  quelque  amour  pour  ces  penples.  Nous 
en  auons  vn  plus  grand  befoin  qtie  iamais. 

Mon  Reuerend  Pere, 
De  Kebec,  ce  premier 
de   Sept  em  bre   1650. 

Voflre  tres-hum ble  &  obei'ffant 
Seruiteur  &  fujet  en  N.  S. 
Pavl  Ragveneav. 


\    f 


/ 


I    {. 


1650] 


RELA  TION  OF  1649-50 


77 


sweet  than  life  will  be  in  any  place  where  we  could  dwell. 
But  we  must  follow  God,  and  must  love  his  leadings,  how- 
ever opposed  they  may  seem  to  our  wishes,  cur  holiest  hopes, 
or  the  tenderest  longings  of  otir  hearts.  In  a  word,  we 
have  come  down  to  Kebec,  together  with  [3]  some  Christian 
families  of  the  poor  Savages  who  have  followed  us  in  our 
retreat, — and  with  whom,  if  it  please  Our  Lord  to  bless 
their  purposes  and  ours,  zve  shall  endeavor,  under  cover  of 
our  French  fort,  to  form  a  Huron  Colony.  Your  Rever- 
ence will  find  all  the  details  in  this  Relation  that  I  send 
you,  beseeching  you  to  obtain  for  us  the  prayers  of  all  who 
have  any  love  for  these  peoples.  We  stand  in  greater  need 
of  them  than  ever. 

My  Reverend  Father, 
From  Kebec,  this  first 
day  of  September,  1650. 

Your  very  humble   and   obedient 
Servant  and  subject  in  Our  Lord, 
Paul  Ragueneau. 


78 


LES  RELATIONS  DES  J&SUITES         [Vol.  35 


I 


[4]  CHAPITRE  I. 


DU     TRANSPORT    DE     LA   MAISON    DE    SAINCTE     MARIE 
DANS   L'ISLE   DE   S.    lOSEPlI. 


V '  i 


' 


EN  fuite   des   vidtoires  fanglantes,   que  rempor- 
terent  les  Iroquois  fur  nos  Hurons,  au  commece- 
ment  du  Printemps  de  I'an  paff6   1649.  ^  ^^ 
fuite  des  barbaries  plus  qu'inhumaines  qu'ils  exer- 
cerent  k  I'endroit  de  leurs  captifs  de  guerre,  &  des 
cruels  tourmens  qu'ils  firent  fouffrir  impitoyablement 
au  Pere  lean  de  Brebeuf,  &  au  Pere  Gabriel  Lalle- 
mant,  Pafteurs  de  cette  Eglife  vrayement  fouffrante; 
la  terreur  s'eltant  iett^e  fur  les  bourgades  voifmes, 
qui  redoutoient  vn  lemblable  malheur ;  tout  le  pais 
f e  difTipa :  Ces  pauures  peuples  defolez  ayans  quitt^ 
leurs  terres,  leurs  maifons,  &  leurs  bourgades,  &  tout 
ce  qu'ils  auoient  de  plus  cher  en  ce  monde,  pour  fuyr 
la  cruaut6  d'vn  ennemy  qu'ils  craignoient  plus  que 
raille  morts,  &  que  tout  ce  qui  reftoit  deuant  leurs 
yeux,    capable    d'efpouupnter    des    perfonnes   defia 
miferables.     Plufieurs  [5]  n'efperans  plus  d'humanit^ 
parmy  les  hommes,  fe  ietterent  dans  I'efpaifCeur  des 
bois,  pour  y  trouuer  la  paix,  quoy  qu'auec  les  beftes 
teroces.     Les  autres   fe   retirerent    fur   des   rochers 
affreux,  au  milieu  d'vn  grand   Lac,  qui  a  prez  de 
quatre  cent  lieues  de  circuit;  aymans  mieux  mourir 
dans  les  eaux,  &  dans  les  precipices,  que  dans  le  feu 
des   Iroquois.      Vn  bon  nombre,    ayans   pris   party 
parmy  les  peuples  de  la  Nation-Neutre,  &  dans  le 
fommet  des  Montagnes  que  nour>  nommons  la  Nation 


1660] 


/i£LA  TION  OF  1649 -jo 


79 


[4]  CHAPTER  I. 

OF  THE  REMOVAL  OF  THE   HOUSE  OF  SAINTE  MARIE  TO 
THE   ISLAND   OF   ST.  JOSEPH. 

IN  consequence  of  the  bloody  victories  obtained  by 
the  Iroquois  over  our  Hurons  at  the  commence- 
ment of  the  Spring  of  last  year,  1649,  and  of  the 
more  than  inhuman  acts  of  barbarity  practiced  toward 
their  prisoners  of  war,  and  the  cruel  torments  piti- 
lessly inflicted  on  Father  Jean  de  Brebeuf  and  Father 
Gabriel  Lallemant,  Pastors  of  this  truly  sufl^ering 
Church, — terror  having  fallen  upon  the  neighboring 
villages,  which  were  dreading  a  similar  misfortune, — 
all  the  inhabitants  dispersed.  These  poor,  distressed 
people  forsook  their  lands,  houses,  and  villages,  and 
all  that  in  the  world  was  dearest  to  them,  in  order  to 
escape  the  cruelty  of  an  enemy  whom  they  feared 
more  than  a  thousand  deaths,  and  more  than  all  that 
remained  before  their  eyes, —  calculated  as  that  was 
to  strike  terror  into  hearts  already  wretched.  Many, 
[5]  no  longer  expecting  humanity  from  man,  flung 
themselves  into  the  deepest  recesses  of  the  forest, 
where,  though  it  were  with  tLe  wild  beasts,  they 
might  find  peace.  Others  took  refuge  upon  some 
frightful  rocks  that  lay  in  the  midst  of  a  great  Lake 
nearly  four  hundred  leagues  in  circumference, — 
choosing  rather  to  find  death  in  the  waters,  or  from 
the  cliffs,  than  by  the  fires  of  the  Iroquois.  A  goodly 
number  having  cast  in  their  lot  with  the  people  of 
the  Neutral   Nation,  and  with  those  living  on  the 


111 
(HI 


/( 


( 


Ml 


11 


i  •  i 


il 


I 


If' 


?  n 


ff 


r  1' 


n 


80 


Z^5  RELA  TIONS  DES  jASUITES         [Vol.  35 


du  Petun;  ceux  qui  reftoient  ICvS  plus  confiderables 
nous  inuiterent  k  nous  ioindre  auec  eux,  &  de  ne  pas 
fuyr  fi  loin ;  efperans  que  Dieu  prendroit  leur  caufe 
en  main,  lors  qu'elle  feroit  deuenue  la  noftre,  &  qu'il 
auroit  foin  de  leur  deffenfe  s'ils  auoient  foin  de  le 
feruir:  Nous  promettans  pour  c6t  effet,  de  fe  faire 
tons  Chreftiens,  &  d'eftre  fideles  k  la  foy  iufqu'k  la 
mort,  qu'ils  voyoient  arm^e  de  tous  coftez  pour  les 
exterminer. 

C'efloit  iuftement  ce  que  Dieu  demadoit  de  nous, 
en  des  temps  de  defolation,  de  fuyr  auec  Ics  fuyans, 
de  les  fuiure  par  tout  oti  leur  foy  les  fuiuoit,  &:  de  [6] 
ne  pas  negliger  aucun  de  ces  Chreftiens:  quc^  qu'il 
fuft  conuenable  d'arrefler  le  gros  de  nos  forces,  oti 
le  gros  de  ces  fugitifs  prendroient  deilein  de  s'ar- 
refter.  C'eft  la  conclufion  que  nous  prifmes  ayans 
recommand^  I'affaire  ^  Dieu. 

Nous  d^tachafmes  quelques-vns  de  nos  Peres,  pour 
faire  quelques  Miffions  volantes ;  les  vns  dans  vn  petit 
canot  d'efcorce,  pour  voguer  fur  les  coftes,  &  vifiter 
les  ifles  les  plus  efloign^es  de  ce  grand  Lac ;  ^  foixante, 
quatre  vingts,  &  cent  lieues  de  nous.  'Les  autres 
prirent  leur  chemin  parterre,  trauerfans  laprofondeur 
des  bois,  &  grauiffans  la  cime  des  montagnes.  En 
quelque  endroit  que  nous  marchions,  Dieu  eftant 
noflre  condudteur,  noflre  deffenfe,  nos  efperances, 
&  noftre  tout;  qui  a  t'il  a  craindre  pour  nous? 

Mais  il  fallut,  k  tous  tant  que  nous.eftions,  quitter 
cette  ancienne  demeure  de  faindle  Marie ;  ces  edifices, 
qui  quoy  que  pauures,  paroiffoient  des  chef-d'oeuures 
de  I'art,  aux  yeux  de  nos  pauures  Sauuages;  ces 
terres  cultiu^es  qui  nous  promettoient  vne  riche 
moilTon.     II  nous  fallut  abandonner  ce  lieu,  que  ie 


''] 


1650J 


JiELA  TION  OF  1649-30 


81 


Mountain  heights,  whom  we  call  the  Tobacco 
Nation,^  the  most  prominent  of  those  who  remained 
invited  us  to  join  them,  rather  than  to  flee  so  far 
away, —  trusting  that  God  would  espouse  their  cause 
when  it  should  have  become  our  own,  and  would  be 
mindful  of  their  protection,  provided  they  took  care 
to  serve  him.  With  this  in  view,  they  promised  us 
that  they  would  all  become  Christians,  and  be  true 
to  the  faith  till  the  death  came  which  they  saw 
prepared  on  every  side  for  their  destruction. 

This  was  exactly  what  God  was  requiring  of  us, — 
that,  in  times  of  dire  distress,  we  should  flee  with 
the  fleeing,  accompanying  them  everywhere,  whither- 
soever their  faith  should  follow  them ;  and  that  [6] 
we  should  lose  sight  of  none  of  these  Christians, 
although  it  might  be  expedient  to  detain  the  bulk  of 
our  forces  wherever  the  main  body  of  fugitives  might 
decide  to  settle  down.  This  was  the  conclusion  we 
came  to,  after  having  commended  the  matter  to  God. 

We  told  off  certain  of  our  Fathers,  to  make  some 
itinerant  Missions, — some,  in  a  small  bark  canoe, 
for  voyaging  along  the  coasts,  and  visiting  the  more 
distant  islands  of  the  great  Lake,  at  sixty,  eighty, 
and  a  hundred  leagues  from  us;  others  to  journey  by 
land,  making  their  way  through  forest-depths,  and 
scaling  the  summits  of  mountains.  Go  which  way 
we  might,  since  God  was  our  guide,  our  defense,  our 
hope,  and  our  all,  what  was  there  to  fear  for  us? 

But  on  each  of  us  lay  the  necessity  of  bidding  fare- 
well to  that  old  home  of  sainte  Marie, — to  its  struc- 
tures, which,  though  plain,  seemed,  to  the  eyes  of  our 
poor  Savages,  master- works  of  art ;  and  to  its  culti- 
vated lands,  which  were  promising  us  an  abundant 
harvest.     That  spot  must  be  forsaken,  which  I  may 


\    1 

1 

i 


ii 


t 


w- 


82 


LES  RELA  TIONS  DES  J&SUITES         [Vol.  35 


puis  [7]  appeller  noflre  feconde  Patrie,  &  nos  delices 
innocentes;  puis  qu'il  auoit  efl6  le  berceau  de  ce 
Chriftianifme,  qu'il  eftoit  le  temple  de  Dieu,  &  la 
maifon  des  feruiteurs  de  lefus-Chrilt,  &  crainte  que 
nos  ennemis  trop  impies,  ne  profanaffent  ce  lieu  de 
faindtet^,  &  n'en  priffent  leur  auantage;  nous  y 
mifmes  le  feu  nous  mefmes,  &  nous  vifmes  brufler 
"k  nos  yeux,  en  moins  d'vne  heure,  nos  trauaux  de 
neuf  &  de  dix  ans. 

C'efloit  fur  les  cinq  a  fix  heures  du  foir,  le  qua- 
torziefme  iour  du  mois  de  luin,  qu'vme  partie  de 
nous  monta  fur  vn  petit  vaiffeau  que  nous  anions 
baity:  le  me  iettay  auec  la  plus  grande  part  des 
autres,  fur  des  arbres  de  cinquante  k  foixante  picds  de 
longueur,  que  nous  anions  abatus  Jans  les  bois,  &  que 
nous  traifnafmes  dans  I'eau,  les  lians  tons  enfemble, 
pour  nous  faire  vn  planclier  fiottant  fur  cet  element 
infidelle,  comme  autrefois  nous  anions  veu  qu'en 
France  on  conduifoit  le  bois  flott6  deffus  les  eaux. 
Nous  voguafmes  toute  la  nuidl  fur  noftre  grand  Lac,  "k 
force  de  bras  &  de  rames ;  &  le  temps  nous  eftant 
fauorable,  nous  abordafmes  heureufement  au  bout  [8] 
de  quelques  iours,  dans  vne  ifle  ou  les  Hurons  nous 
attendoient,  &  qui  eftoit  le  lieu  ou  nous  anions  pris 
le  deffein  de  nous  reiinir  tons  enfemble,  pour  en 
faire  vne  ifle  Chreftienne. 

Dieu  fans  doute  nous  conduifoit  en  ce  voyage :  car 
lors  mefme  que  nous  coftoyons  ces  terres  abandon- 
n6es,  I'ennemy  eftoit  en  campagne,  &  fit  fon  coup  le 
lendemain,  fur  quelques  families  Chreftiennes,  qu'il 
furprift  durant  leur  fommeil,  fur  le  chemin  que  nous 
anions  tenu;  maffacrant  les  vns  fur  la  place;  les 
autres  furent  emmenez  captifs. 


rv  i« 


} 


1650] 


/iELA  TION  OF  1649-30 


83 


[7]  call  our  second  Fatherland,  our  home  of  innocent 
delights,  since  it  had  been  the  cradle  of  this  Christian 
church;  since  it  was  the  temple  of  God,  and  the 
home  of  the  servants  of  Jesus  Christ.  Moreover,  for 
fear  that  our  enemies,  only  too  wicked,  should  pro- 
fane the  sacred  place,  and  derive  from  it  an  advantage, 
we  ourselves  set  fire  to  it,  and  beheld  burn  before 
our  eyes,  in  less  than  one  hour,  our  work  of  nine  or 
ten  years.    • 

It  was  between  five  and  six  o'clock,  on  the  evening 
of  the  fourteenth  of  June,  tha.:  a  part  of  our  number 
embarked  in  a  small  vessel  we  had  built.  I,  in  com- 
pany with  most  of  the  others,  trusted  myself  to  some 
logs,  fifty  or  sixty  feet  in  length,  which  we  had  felled 
in  the  woods,  and  dragged  into  the  water,  binding 
all  together,  in  order  to  fashion  for  ourselves  a  sort 
of  raft  that  should  float  on  that  faithless  element, — 
just  as,  in  former  days,  we  had  seen  in  France  float- 
ing timbers  transported  down  the  streams.  We 
voyaged  all  night  upon  our  great  Lake,  by  dint  of 
arms  and  oars;  and,  the  weather  being  favorable,  we 
landed  without  mishap,  after  [8]  a  few  days,  upon  an 
island,  where  the  Hurons  were  awaiting  us,  and 
which  was  the  spot  we  had  fixed  upon  for  a  general 
reunion,  that  we  might  make  of  it  a  Christian  island. 

God,  doubtless,  led  us  on  this  journey;  for,  even 
while  we  coasted  along  those  deserted  lands,  the 
enemy  was  in  the  field,  and  on  the  following  day 
delivered  his  blow  upon  some  Christian  families 
whom  he  surprised,  during  their  sleep,  along  the 
road  which  we  had  followed ;  some  were  massacred 
upon  the  spot,  others  led  away  captive. 

The  Hurons  who  were  awaiting  us  on  that  Island, 
called  the  Island  of  Saint  Joseph,  had  sown  there  their 


\   I 


/    1 


^  ■}! 


I     !'        «i 


84 


LES  RELATIONS  DES  J&SUITES         [Vol.  86 


Les  Hiirons  qui  nous  attendoient  das  cette  Ifle, 
appellee  I'lfle  de  Saint  lofeph,  y  auoient  fem6  leur 
bled  d'Inde:  mais  les  fechereffes  de  I'Eft^  elloient 
fi  excefliues,  qu'ils  perdoient  I'efperance  de  leur 
moiffon,  fi  le  Ciel  ne  leur  donnoit  quelque  pluye 
fauorable.  lis  nous  prierent  k  noftre  abord  d'ob- 
tenir  cette  faueur  pour  eux.  Nos  prieres  furent 
exauc^es  le  mefme  iour,  quoy  qu'il  n'y  euft  aupara- 
uant  aucune  apparence  de  pluye. 

Ces  grans  bois,  qui  depuis  la  Creation  du  monde, 
n'auoient  point  efte  abbatus  de  la  main  d'aucun 
homme,  nous  [9]  receurent  pour  hoftes;  &  la  terre 
nous  fournit,  fans  la  creufer,  la  pierre  &  le  ciment 
qu'il  nous  falloit,  pour  nous  fortifier  centre  nos  enne- 
mis.  En  forte  que  Dieu  mercy  nous  nous  vifmes  en 
eftat  de  tres-bonne  deffenfe,  ayant  baity  vn  petit 
fort,  fi  regulierement  qu'il  fe  deffendoit  facilement 
foy-mefme,  &  qui  ne  craignoit  point,  ny  le  feu,  ny  la 
fappe,  ny  I'efcalade  des  Iroquois. 

De  plus,  nous  mifmes  la  main  pour  fortifier  le 
bourg  des  Hurons,  qui  ioignoit  k  noftre  habitation : 
nous  leur  dreffames  des  baftions,  qui  en  deffendoient 
les  approches/  eftans  dans  le  defl^ein  de  prelter  & 
les  forces,  &  les  armes,  &  le  courage  de  nos  Fran- 
9ois,  qui  euffent  expose  tres-volontiers  leur  vie,  pour 
vne  deffenfe  fi  raif onnable,  &  fi  Chreflienne :  ce  bourg 
eftant  vrayement  Chreftien,  &  le  fondement  du 
Chriftianifme  refpandu  en  toutes  ces  contr^es. 


1660J 


RELA  TION  OF  164^-30 


85 


Indian  corn;  but  the  Summer  drouths  had  been  so 
excessive  that  they  lost  hope  of  their  harvest,  unless 
Heaven  should  afford  them  some  favoring  showers. 
On  our  arrival,  they  besought  us  to  obtain  this  favor 
for  them ;  and  our  prayers  were  granted  that  very 
day,  although  previously  there  had  been  no  appear- 
ance of  rain. 

These  grand  forests,  which,  since  the  Creation  of 
the  world,  had  not  been  felled  by  the  hand  of  any 
man,  [9]  received  us  as  guests;  while  the  ground 
furnished  to  us,  without  digging,  the  stone  and 
cement  we  needed  for  fortifying  ourselves  against 
our  enemies.**  In  consequence,  thank  God,  we  found 
ourselves  very  well  protected,  having  built  a  small 


fort  according  to  military  rules,  which,  therefore, 
could  be  easily  defended,  and  would  fear  neither 
the  fire,  the  undermining,  nor  the  escalade  of  the 
Iroquois. 

Moreover,  we  set  to  work  to  fortify  the  village  of 
the  Hurons,  which  was  adjacent  to  our  place  of 
abode.  We  erected  for  them  bastions,  which  de- 
fended its  approaches, —  intending  to  put  at  their 
disposal  the  strength,  the  arms,  and  the  courage  of 
our  Frenchmen.  These  would  most  willingly  have 
hazarded  their  lives  in  a  defense  so  reasonable  and 
so  Christian, —  the  village  being  truly  Christian,  and 
the  foundation  of  the  Christian  church  that  is 
dispersed  throughout  these  regions. 


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86 


LES  RELA  TIONS  DES  JASUITES        [Vol.  36 


CHAPITRE  II. 


DE   LA   MISSION   DE   SAINCT   JOSEPH. 


I    I 


CETTE  Ifle  dans  laquelle  nous  anions  tranfport6 
la  maifon  de  Sainte  Marie,  [lo]  ayant  le  nom 
de  Saint  lof eph  Patron  de  ces  Pais ;  les  Sau- 
uages  qui  s'y  efloient  retirez,  compofoient  la  Miffion 
qui  portoit  le  mefme  nom.  Le  bourg  Huron  auoit 
plus  de  cent  cabanes,  dont  vne  feule  contenoit  les 
huit  &  dix  families,  qui  font  foixante  &  quatre  vingt 
perfonnes.  Outre  cela,  il  y  auoit  qk  &  ik  dans  la 
Campagne,  quelques  cabanes  plus  efloignees;  qui 
toutes  ont  donn^  de  1' employ  aux  Peres  qui  ont  eu 
le  foin  de  cette  Miflion :  fur  laquelle  Dieu  a  vers6  fes 
benedii5tions,  h  proportion  des  Croix  qu'il  y  a  enuoy^. 
La  famine  y  a  ett6  extreme.  Non  pas  que  les 
terres  qu'on  y  auoit  enfemenc^es,  n'euffent  rendu 
auec  I'vfure  que  Ton  defiroit,  &  bien  au  dela  du  cen- 
tuple, ce  qu'on  leur  auoit  confie:  mais  h.  caufe  que  de 
dix  families,  h.  peine  y  en  auoit  il  vne  feule  qui  euft 
pu  vacquer  aux  trauaux,  qui  font  neceffaires,  pour 
fe  faire  vn  champ  de  bled  d'Inde,  en  vn  lieu,  qui 
lors  que  Ton  y  aborda  n'efloit  qu'vne  efpaifle  foreft, 
qui  n' auoit  rien  de  difpos6  pour  le  labour.  La  pluf- 
part  de  ces  pauures  exilez  dans  leur  propres  pais, 
auoient  pafT6  tout  I'Efte,  &  vne  partie  de  [ii]  I'Au- 
tomne,  a  viure  dans  les  bois,  de  racines  &  de  fruits 
fauuages ;  &  k  pef cher  5a  &  Ik,  fur  les  Lacs  &  fur  les 
Riuieres,  quelques  petits  poiflons,  qui  feruoient  plus 


u    \- 


1650] 


RELA  TION  OF  1649-50 


87 


CHAPTER  XL 


OF  THE   MISSION  OF  SAINT   JOSEPH. 


THIS  Island,  to  which  we  had  transferred  the 
house  of  Sainte  Marie,  [10]  being  called  by  the 
name  of  Saint  Joseph,  Patron  of  these  Regions, 
the  Savages  who  had  removed  there  constituted  the 
Mission  bearing  the  same  name.  The  Huron  village 
comprised  over  a  hundred  cabins,  one  of  which  might 
contain  eight  or  ten  families, — making,  say,  sixty  or 
eighty  persons.  Besides  this  village,  in  the  Coun- 
try, here  and  there,  were  a  few  more  distant  cabins, 
all  of  which  have  provided  work  for  the  Fathers  who 
have  had  charge  of  this  Mission,  on  which  God  has 
poured  out  his  blessings  in  proportion  to  the  Crosses 
which  he  has  sent  it. 

The  famine  here  has  been  very  severe.  Not  that 
the  lands  which  had  been  sown  would  not  have 
returned  with  interest  what  we  desired  —  indeed, 
more  than  a  hundredfold  —  that  which  had  been 
entrusted  to  them ;  but  for  the  reason  that  there  was 
hardly  one  family  in  ten  which  had  been  able  to 
apply  itself  to  the  labor  needed  to  cultivate  a  field  of 
Indian  corn  in  a  place  which,  when  they  came  to  it, 
was  but  1  thick  forest,  unprepared  in  any  way  for 
tillage.  The  greater  number  of  these  poor  people, 
exiles  in  their  own  country,  had  passed  the  whole 
Summer,  a  part  also  of  [11]  the  Autumn,  living  in 
the  woods  on  roots  and  wild  fruits ;  or  taking,  here 
and  there,  in  the  Lakes  or  Rivers,  a  few  small  fish, 


II 


I! 


88 


LES  RELA  TIONS  DES  /^SUITES         [Vol.  36 


i' 


pour  reculer  vn  peu  leur  mort,  que  pour  contenter 
leur  vie.  L'hyuer  eflat  venu,  qui  a  couuert  la  terre 
de  trois  &  quatre  pieds  de  neige,  &  qui  a  glac6  tous 
les  Lacs  &  toutes  les  Riuieres;  tout  ce  ramas  de 
monde  s'eftant  rang^  proche  de  nous,  fe  vit  inconti- 
nent dans  la  necefllt^,  &  dans  i'extremit6  de  la  mifere ; 
n'ayans  fait,  ny  pu  faire  aucane  prouilion. 

Ce  fut  alors  que  nous  fufries  contrains  de  voir  des 
fqueletes  mourantes,  qui  fouftenoient  vne  vie  mife- 
rable,  mangeant  iufqu'aux  ordures,  &  ics  rebuts  de 
la  nature.  Le  gland  eftoit  k  la  plus-part,  ce  que 
feroient  en  Frace  les  mets  les  plus  exquis.  Les 
charognes  mefme  deten^es,  les  reftes  des  Renards 
&  des  Chiens,  ne  faifoient  point  dhorreur,  &  fe 
mangeoient,  quoy  qu'en  cachete:  Car  quoy  que  les 
Hurons,  auant  que  la  foy  leur  eufl  donn6  plus  de 
lumiere,  qu'ils  n'en  auoient  dans  I'infidelit^,  ne 
creuITent  pas  commettre  aucun  pech6  de  mager  leurs 
ennemis,  auffi  peu  qu'il  y  en  a  de  les  tuer:  [12] 
Toutefois  ie  puis  dire  auec  verity,  qu'ils  n'ont  pas 
moins  d'horreur  de  manger  de  leurs  compatriotes, 
qu'on  pent  auoir  en  France  de  manger  de  la  chair 
humaine.  Mais  la  neceffit6  n'a  plus  de  loy,  &  des 
dents  fameliques  ne  difcernent  plus  ce  qu'elles  man- 
gent.  Les  meres  fe  font  repeues  de  leurs  enfans, 
des  freres  de  leurs  freres,  &  des  enfans  ne  recon- 
noiffoient  plus  en  vn  cadavre  mort,  celuy  lequel  lors 
qu'il  viuoit,  ils  appelloient  leur  Pere. 

Nous  auons  tafch^  de  foulager  vne  partie  de  ces 
miferes:  mais  quoy  qu'en  ces  aumofnes,  nous  ayons 
eft6  pent  eftre  au  del^  de  ce  que  la  Prudence  eufl 
demand^  de  nous,  toutefois  le  mal  eflant  fi  public, 
&  tout   le  monde   ne   pouuant    pas    eftre    fecouru 


1660J 


RELA  TION  OF  1649  so 


89 


which  aided  rather  in  postponing  for  a  little  time 
their  death,  than  in  satisfying  the  needs  of  life. 
Winter  having  set  in,  covering  the  ground  with  three 
or  four  feet  of  snow,  and  freezing  all  the  Lakes  and 
Rivers,  that  entire  multitude  of  people  who  had 
crowded  near  us  found  themselves  in  immediate 
need,  and  in  the  extremity  of  misery,  not  having 
laid  in,  nor  being  able  to  store,  any  provisions. 

Then  it  was  that  we  were  compelled  to  behold 
dying  skeletons  eking  out  a  miserable  life,  feeding 
even  on  the  excrements  and  refuse  of  nature.  The 
acorn  was  to  them,  for  the  most  part,  what  the 
choicest  viands  are  in  France.  Even  carrion  dug 
up,  the  remains  of  Foxes  and  Dogs,  excited  no  hor- 
ror; and  they  even  devoured  one  another,  but  this 
in  secret;  for  although  the  Hurons,  ere  the  faith  had 
given  them  more  light  than  they  possessed  in  infi- 
delity, would  not  have  considered  that  they  com- 
mitted any  sin  in  eating  their  enemies,  any  more 
than  in  killing  them,  [12]  yet  I  can  truly  say  that 
they  regard  with  no  less  horror  the  eating  of  their 
fellow-countrymen  than  would  be  felt  in  France  at 
eating  human  flesh.  But  necessity  had  no  longer 
law ;  and  famished  teeth  ceased  to  discern  the  nature 
of  that  they  ate.  Mothers  fed  upon  their  children ; 
brothers  on  their  brothers ;  while  children  recognized 
no  longer,  in  a  corpse,  him  whom,  while  he  lived, 
they  had  called  their  Father. 

We  endeavored  to  relieve  these  miseries,  in  part; 
but,  although  our  alms  exceeded,  perhaps,  what  Pru- 
dence asked  of  us,  still  —  the  calamity  being  so  wide- 
spread, and  it  being  impossible  for  us  to  assist  all 
equally  —  we  were  compelled  to  be  witnesses  of  some 
of  these  horrifying  spectacles. 


M 


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I 


90 


LES  RELATIONS  DES  jASUITES        [Vol.86 


51 


.  1  / 


efgalement  de  nous;  nous  auons  efl6  contraints  de 
voir  de  nos  yeux  vne  partie  de  ces  fpedlacles,  qui 
nous  faifoient  horreur. 

Ceux  qui  auoient  dequoy  parer  aucunement  'k  la 
famine,  fe  virent  actaquez  d'vne  maladie  contagieufe, 
qui  en  emporta  vn  grand  nombre ;  mais  particuliere- 
ment  des  enfans. 

La  Guerre  auoit  defia  fait  f es  rauages :  non  feule- 
ment  dans  la  defolation  arriu^e  [13]  I'Hyuer  prece- 
dent; mais  en  quantity  de  maffacres,  qui  eftoient 
furuenus  tout  le  long  de  I'Efte,  en  terre  ferme,  aux 
enuirons  de  ceft:'^  Ifle;  oil  la  pauuret6  contraignoit 
quantity  de  families  d'aller  chercher  auffi  toft  la 
mort,  que  la  vie,  dans  des  campagnes  abandonn6es  ^ 
la  fureur  des  ennemis.  Mais  afin  que  rien  ne  man- 
quaft  aux  miferes  d'vn  peuple  afflige;  tous  les  iours, 
&  toutes  les  nuits  de  I'Hyuer,  ce  n'eftoient  que  des 
nuits  d  horreur,  das  les  craintes  &  dans  les  attetes 
oil  ils  eftoiet  fans  cefle  d'vne  arm^e  ennemie  d' Iro- 
quois, dont  ils  auoient  eu  aduis;  qui  (difoit-on,) 
deuoit  venir  nous  enleuer  cette  Ifle,  &  exterminer 
auec  nous  les  reftes  d'vn  pais  tirant  k  fa  fin.  Voila 
vne  face  d'affaire  bien  deplorable:  mais  ce  fut  au 
milieu  de  ces  defolations,  que  Dieu  prit  plaifir  de 
tirer  le  bien  de  ces  peuples,  de  leur  plus  grand  mal- 
heur.  Leur  coeur  fe  trouuoit  fi  docile  k  la  foy,  que 
nous  faifions  dans  leurs  efprits  plus  en  vne  parole, 
que  iamais  nous  n*  anions  pu  faire  en  des  annees 
toutes  entieres.  Ces  pauures  gens  mourans  de  faim 
venoient  eux-mefmes  nous  trouuer,  &  nous  deman- 
der  le  Baptefme;  fe  [14]  cofolans  des  efperances  du 
Paradis,  qu'ils  voyoiet  auffi  proche  d'eux,  qu'eftoit 
la  mort,  qu'ils  portoient  dans  leur  fein. 


/ 


^SSSm 


1650] 


RELA  TION  OF  164^-50 


01 


Those  who  were  totally  without  means  to  guard 
against  the  famine  were  attacked  by  a  contagious 
malady,  which  carried  off  a  great  number  of  them, 
especially  of  the  children. 

The  War  hid  already  made  its  ravages,  not  only 
in  the  devastation  which  occurred  [13]  in  the  preced- 
ing Winter,  but  in  the  number  of  massacres  which 
happened  all  through  the  Summer,  on  the  mainland 
in  the  vicinity  of  this  Island;  poverty  compelled 
numbers  of  families  to  go  thither,  to  seek  death  as 
much  as  life,  in  the  open  country  given  over  to  the  fury 
of  the  enemy.  But,  that  nothing  might  be  lacking 
in  the  miseries  of  an  afflicted  people,  all  the  days  and 
nights  of  Winter  were  but  nights  of  horror,  passed 
in  constant  fear  and  expectation  of  a  hostile  party  of 
Iroquois,  of  whom  tidings  had  been  received ;  these 
(it  was  said)  were  to  come  to  us  to  sweep  this  Island, 
and  to  exterminate,  with  us,  the  remnants  of  a  nation 
drawing  to  its  end.  Here  is  an  aspect  of  the  matter 
calamitous  indeed ;  but  it  was  in  the  midst  of  these 
desclations  that  God  was  pleased  to  bring  forth,  from 
their  deepest  misfortunes,  the  well-being  of  this 
people.  Their  hearts  had  become  so  tractable  to  the 
faith  that  we  effected  in  them,  by  a  single  word, 
more  than  we  had  ever  been  able  to  accomplish  in 
entire  years.  These  poor  people,  dying  of  hunger, 
came  of  their  own  accord  to  see  us,  and  besought  of 
us  Baptism, —  [14]  consoling  themselves  with  hopes 
of  Paradise,  which  they  beheld  as  near  to  them  as 
was  the  death  itself  which  they  carried  in  their 
bosoms. 

One  mother  was  visited,  who  had  but  her  two 
breasts,  and  these  dry  and  without  milk, — which, 
nevertheless,   were  the  sole  offering  she  had  been 


;»ii 


f.i 


92 


LES  RELATIONS  DES  jASUITES         [Vol.  85 


!l 


Vne  mere  s'eft  veue,  n'ayant  que  deux  mammelles, 
mais  fans  fuc  &  fans  laic5t,  qui  toutefois  eftoit  I'vnique 
chofe  qu'elle  eut  peu  prefenter  k  trois  ou  quatre 
enfans,  qui  pleuroient  y  eftans  attachez:  Elle  les 
voyoit  mourir  entre  fes  bras,  les  vns  apres  les  autres, 
&  n'auoit  pas  mefme  les  forces  de  les  poufler  dans  le 
tombeau.  He  mouroit  fous  cette  charge,  &  en 
mourant  elle  difoit,  Ouy,  Mon  Dieu,  vous  eftes  le 
maiil;re  de  nos  vies :  nous  mourrons  puifque  vous  le 
voulez;  voila  qui  eft  bien  que  nous  mourrions  Chre- 
ftiens.  I'eftois  damn^e,  &  mes  enfans  auec  moy,  li 
nous  ne  fulTions  morts  miferables,  ils  ont  receu  le 
fain(5t  Baptefme,  &  io  croy  fermement  que  mourans 
tous  de  compagnie,  nous  refufciterons  tous  enfemble. 

Vne  autre  mere  fe  voyant  mourir  la  premiere,  auec 
autant  de  paix  que  fi  elle  eut  entr6  dans  vn  doux 
fommeil,  laifloit  delus  fon  fein  deux  pauures  orphe- 
lins,  qui  continuoient  de  la  fuccer  apres  fa  mort,  & 
qui  mouroient  deflus  leur  mere,  [15]  aufii  paiUble- 
ment,  qu'ils  s'y  ertoient  autrefois  endormis,  lors 
qu'ils  en  tirciet  &  le  laidt,  &  la  vie. 

Plufieurs  en  expirant  recommandoient  leur  ame 
k  Dieu,  d'autres  difoient  k  leurs  enfans,  qu'ils  ne 
f ongeaffent  rien  qu'k  luy,  puifque  luy  feul  f eroit  leur 
Pere  dedans  1' eternity.  Quelques-vns  ay  ant  vendu 
pour  vn  repas  de  gland  boiiilly  dans  I'eau,  I'vnique 
chofe  qui  leur  reftoit  de  tous  leurs  biens,  &  laquelle 
ils  s'eftoient  referu^e,  pour  ne  pas  mourir  auffi  nuds, 
qu'ils  eftoient  fortis  du  ventre  de  leur  mere;  fe 
voyans  ainU  defpoiiillez  dans  les  attentes  de  la  mort, 
qui  eftoit  prochaine,  difoient  k  Dieu;  Oiiy  mon 
Dieu,  ie  n'ay  plus  rien  en  terre,  &  mon  cceur 
n'y  pent  eftre  attach^:  i'attens  auec  joye  la  mort, 


41 


\\ 


1660] 


RELA  TION  OF  1649  -jio 


98 


able  to  make  to  three  or  four  infants,  who  wept  as 
they  were  pressed  to  her  bosom.  She  beheld  them 
die  in  her  arms,  one  after  another,  and  had  not  even 
the  strength  to  cast  them  into  the  grave.  She 
expired  under  this  burden;  but  with  her  dying 
breath  she  said:  "  Yes,  My  God,  you  are  the  lord 
of  our  lives;  we  shall  die,  since  you  will  it;  but 
how  good  it  is,  that  we  should  die  Christians.  I 
would  have  been  damned,  and  my  childien  with  me, 
had  we  not  died  in  affliction.  They  have  received 
holy  Baptism ;  and  I  firmly  believe  that,  being  com- 
panions in  death,  we  shall  rise  all  together." 

Another  mother,  perceiving  that  she  would  be  the 
first  to  die,  left  —  with  the  same  peace  as  if  she  were 
falling  into  a  sweet  slumber  —  upon  her  bosom  two 
poor  orphans,  who  continued  to  suck  from  her  after 
her  death,  and  who  died  upon  their  mother  [15]  as 
quietly  as  formerly  they  had  slept  there,  when  they 
drew  from  her  both  milk  and  life. 

Many,  when  dying,  commended  their  souls  to  God ; 
others  bade  their  children  think  only  of  him,  since 
he,  and  no  other,  would  be  their  Father  through 
eternity.  Some,  having  sold  for  a  meal  of  acorns, 
boiled  in  water,  the  single  possession  which  remained 
to  them  of  all  their  goods, — and  which  they  had 
reserved  in  order  that  they  might  not  die  in  as  naked 
a  condition  as  they  had  issued  from  the  wombs  of 
their  mothers, —  finding  themselves  thus  despoiled, 
said  to  God,  while  awaiting  the  death  that  was  at 
hand:  "  Yes,  my  God,  I  have  nothing  more  on  earth, 
and  my  heart  cannot  be  attached  to  it.  I  await  with 
joy  the  death  which  formerly  I  so  much  dreaded ;  but 
it  is  in  the  hope  which  your  faith  affords  me,  that  I 


'  i 


U 


it' 


II 


i    ! 


94 


LES  RELATIONS  DES  J&SVITES        [Vol.36 


5     f 


qu'autrefois  i'ay  tant  redout6e :  mais  c'eft  dans  I'efpe- 
rance  que  voflre  foy  me  donne  que  ie  feray  d'autant 
plus  heureux  dans  le  Ciel,  que  ie  meuis  main  tenant 
miferable. 

Ces  pauures  moribonds  nous  beniffoient  en  mefme 
temps  qu'ils  enuifageoient  leurs  miferes,  n'y  en 
ayant  aucun  qui  n'ait  trouu^  en  nous,  &  plus  d'amour, 
&  vne  charity  plus  fecourante,  [i6]  qu'ils  n'en  efprou- 
uoient  mefme  de  leurs  plus  proches.  Auffi  ne  nous 
regardoient-ils,  qu'auec  des  yeux  d'amour,  comme 
leurs  Peres,  &  receuans  nos  charitez  durant  leur  vie, 
ils  fgauoient  bien  qu'elles  continueroient  fur  eux, 
mefme  iufqu'apres  la  mort,  quelques-vns  de  nos 
Peres,  &  des  Frangois  qui  efloient  auec  nous,  s'eftans 
chargez  du  foin,  qu'aucun  autre  ne  vouloit  prendre, 
non  pas  mefme  les  plus  proches  parens  des  defunts, 
d'enfeuelir  &  d'enterrer  ces  pauures  abandonnez  des 
hommes :  mais  que  nous  pouuons  appeller  les  cheris 
de  Dieu,  puis  qu'ils  font  maintenant  fes  enfans,  quel- 
ques  barbares  &  miferables  qu'ils  ayent  efl^.  Ecce 
quomodo  computati  funt  inter  filios  Dei,  &  inter  fanclos 
fors  illorum  ejl. 

II  s'eft  trouu6  de  ces  pauures  Chreftiens,  qui  fe 
voyans  mourir  dans  ces  miferes,  nous  enuoyoient 
querir.  H6 !  ie  te  prie,  mon  frere,  nous  difoient-ils, 
enterre  moy  d^s  maintenant;  car  c'ell;  fait  de  ma  vie, 
&  tu  vois  bien  que  tu  me  dois  compter  entre  les 
morts.  Ce  que  ie  crains,  fi  ie  mourois  auant  que 
d'eftre  enterr^e,  c'eft  que  de  pauures  gens  auffi  mife- 
rables que  moy,  ne  me  defpoiiillent  [17]  de  ce  haillon, 
dont  ma  nudit6  eft  couuerte,  pour  fe  couurir  eux- 
mefmes.  Ce  me  fera  vne  confolation,  entrant  dans 
le  tombeau,  de  f9auoir  que  mon  corps  n'aura  pas  cette 


I 
e 


r; 

S( 

d 


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t,c..  -  — 


1650J 


RELA  TION  OF  1649-50 


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shall  be  all  the  happier  in  Heaven  because  I  now  die 
in  misery." 

These  poor  dying  people  blessed  us,  even  while 
confronting  their  miseries ;  for  there  was  not  one  of 
them  who  had  not  received  from  us  more  love,  and 
more  helpful  charity,  [16]  than  they  had  experienced 
from  even  their  nearest  relatives.  For  this  reason 
they  looked  on  us  only  with  eyes  of  love,  as  upon 
their  Fathers;  and,  being  made  recipients  of  our 
charities  during  life,  they  were  well  assured  that 
these  would  be  extended  to  them  even  after  death. 
For  some  of  our  Fathers,  and  of  the  Frenchmen  who 
were  with  us,  had  charged  themselves  with  the  care 
which  no  one  else  —  not  even  the  nearest  relatives  of 
the  dead  —  would  undertake,  of  laying  out,  and  bury- 
ing these  poor  people, — forsaken  indeed  by  their 
fellow-men,  but  whom  we  could  call  the  beloved  of 
God,  since  they  are  now  his  children,  however  bar- 
barous and  wretched  they  may  have  been.  Ecce 
qiiomodo  coviputati  sunt  inter  filios  Dei,  et  inter  sanctos 
sors  illorum  est. 

There  were  some  of  these  poor  Christians  who, 
perceiving  that  a  wretched  death  was  near,  sent  for 
us  in  their  miseries.  "  Ah!  "  they  said  to  us,  "I 
entreat  thee,  my  brother,  bury  me  now,  at  once ;  for 
my  life  is  over,  and  thou  seest  plainly  that  I  am  num- 
bered among  the  dead.  Now,  what  I  fear  is  this, 
that,  if  I  should  die  before  being  buried,  other  poor 
people,  as  destitute  as  I  am,  may  rob  me  [17]  of  these 
rags  that  cover  my  nakedness,  to  put  upon  them- 
selves. It  will  be  a  consolation  to  me,  on  going 
down  to  the  grave,  to  know  that,  after  death,  my 
body  will  not  suffer  that  humiliation,  of  which  I  have 


I- 


•I 


96 


LES  RELA  TIONS  DFS  jASUITES         [Vol.  35 


I 


4 


* 


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■I      ^     i 


r 


confufion  apres  la  mort,  dont  i'ay  eu  horreur  toute 
ma  vie.     Ces  fpedlacles  nous  tiroient  les  larmes. 

II  faut  coiifeffer  que  fans  nous  cette  mortality  eilt 
eft6  encore  bien  plus  grande:  car  plufieurs  n'ont 
vefcu  que  de  rafliftance  que  nous  leur  auons  donnd. 
La  main  u  Dieu  ayant  ell6  vrayement  paternelle  fur 
nous,  voulant  nous  conferuer,  pour  mettre  dans  lf> 
Ciel  les  reftes  de  ce  peuple  mourant.  Car  c'efl  cette 
diuine  Prouidence,  qui  par  des  voyes  toutes  pleines 
d'amour,  (ie  les  pourrois  appeller  miraculeufes,)  nous 
fourniffoit  les  moyens,  non  feulement  de  fubfifter 
nous  mefmes,  dans  cette  mifere  publique :  mais  nous 
donoit  encor  les  moyens  de  faire  du  bien  ^  tont  le 
monde,  de  nous  rendre  les  maiftres  des  coeurs,  &  de 
gagner  leur  affec5lion,  pour  les  gagner  tons  tant 
qu'ils  font  k  lefus-Chrift.  C'eft  ce  qu'ils  admiroient 
eux-mefmes;  adorans  en  mefme  temps  la  toute 
puiffance  de  Dieu,  &  fon  amour  fur  nous,  &  en  fuite 
[i8]  fur  eux,  voyans  bien  que  nous  ne  viuions  que 
pour  eux. 

Tout  I'Hyuer,  ayans  employ^  la  iourn6e,  les  vns 
pour  le  falut  des  ames,  les  autres  dans  les  oeuures  de 
charity ;  La  nuit  donnoit  quelque  treue  k  noftre  tra- 
uail:  autant  qu'il  en  falloit  pour  ne  pas  fuccomber 
aux  fatigues  de  la  iourn^e ;  mais  non  pas  tant  que  la 
nature  en  euft  pris  d'elle-mefme,  auec  vn  plaifir 
innocent.  Car  k  vray  dire,  nous  ne  dormions  que 
d'vn  demy  fommeil.  Quelques  froids,  quelques 
neiges,  quelques  vents  qui  foufflaffent ;  toute  la  nuit 
il  y  auoit  des  fentinelles  expof6es  aux  rigueurs  du 
temps,  &  des  rondes  continuelles  qui  faifoient  leur 
deuoir :  Les  autres,  qui  durant  ce  temps  Ik,  prenoient 
vne  partie  de  leur  repos,  eftoient  toufiours  deflous 
les  armes,  &  comme  attendans  le  combat. 


IP 


h 


-.1... 


i-r 


1660J 


RELA  TION  OF  1649  so 


97 


had  a  horror  all  my  life."  Scenes  like  these  drew 
tears  from  our  eyes. 

I  must  confess  that  but  for  us,  this  mortality  would 
have  been  very  much  greater ;  for  many  have  remained 
alive  only  through  the  assistance  which  we  rendered 
them ;  the  hand  of  God,  truly  that  of  a  father  over  us, 
chose  to  preserve  us  that  we  might  lead  to  Heaven  the 
remnant  of  this  dying  people.  For  it  was  this  divine 
Providence  which,  by  methods  full  of  love  (I  may 
call  them  miraculous),  not  only  supplied  to  us,  dur- 
ing this  time  of  general  misery,  the  means  for  our 
own  subsistence,  but  ^ave  to  us  the  ability  to  bene- 
fit all,  to  render  ourselves  masters  of  men's  hearts, 
and  to  gain  their  affections,  that  we  might  win  them, 
one  and  all,  to  Jesus  Christ.  It  was  this  which  they 
themselves  extolled, — adoring,  at  the  same  time, 
the  almighty  power  of  God  and  his  love  toward  us, 
and,  therefore,  [18]  toward  themselves,  perceiving 
clearly  that  we  lived  but  for  them  alone. 

All  Winter,  having  employed  the  day,  some  of  us 
in  the  care  of  souls,  others  in  works  of  charity,  the 
night  afforded  some  respite  to  our  labors, —  as  much, 
at  least,  as  was  needed  to  prevent  our  succumbing  to 
the  fatigues  of  the  day ;  but  not  as  much  as  nature 
heiself  would  have  taken  with  a  guileless  pleasure. 
For,  to  say  the  truth,  our  sleep  was  but  a  half-sleep : 
whatever  the  cold,  whatever  the  snow,  whatever 
winds  might  blow,  sentinels  kept  watch  all  night 
long,  exposed  to  every  severity  of  weather  in  the 
never-ending  rounds  which  formed  their  duty ;  the 
others,  who  during  this  time  were  taking  their  allot- 
ment of  repose,  were  the  while  under  arms,  as  if 
awaiting  battle. 

Our  assiduous  care  for  them  captivated  the  hearts 


fiM 


.1  i 


\  I 


6S 


LES  RELATIONS  DES  J&SUITES         [Vol.  85 


■,l) 


^l 


Ce  grand  foin  rauilToit  le  coeur  de  ces  pauures  Sau- 
uages,  qui  tous  les  iours,  matin  &  foir  remplilToient 
noftre  Eglife  pour  y  rendre  k  Dieu  leurs  hommages. 
Les  Sacremes  y  eftoient  frequetez  auec  deuotion  Les 
Fefles  &  les  Dimanches  eftoieut  fandtifiez  par  la 
Piet^  du  peuple,  [19]  &  par  les  predications  publiques. 
Les  enfans  y  auoient  lei  :  iour  fur  la  femaine,  &  les 
filles  le  leur  fepar6,  pour  apprendre  le  Catechifme. 

Mai3  le  plus  fort  de  nollre  trauail,  efloit  de  vifiter 
les  cabanes,  pour  y  confoler  les  affligez,  y  fecourir 
les  pauures,  pour  y  affifter  les  malades,  pour  y  dif- 
pofer  ^  la  mort,  ceux  qui  en  eftoient  les  plus  proches, 
pour  y  confirmer  dans  I'efprit  de  la  foy  les  Chre- 
tiens &  les  catechumenes,  &  pour  y  gaigner  les 
infidelles  ^  lefus-Chrift. 

Nos  Peres,  en  faifant  ces  vifites,  auoient  I'oeil  "k  la 
pauurete  d'vn  chacun;  &  felon  qu'ils  iugeoient  plus 
^  propos  de  fubuenir  aux  neceffitez  plus  preffantes, 
ils  fe  feruoient  d'vne  efpece  de  monoye,  qu'ils 
alloient  diftribuant  k  ces  pauures.  C'eftoit  vn  petit 
morceau  de  cuiure,  marqu^  pour  c6t  effet.  Tous 
ceux  qui  en  auoient  receu  par  aumofne,  fe  trouuoient 
k  noftre  porte  fur  le  Midy,  &  prefentoient  leur  petite 
monoye.  On  donnoit  aux  vns  vne  certaine  mefure 
de  gland,  qu'ils  faifoient  boiiillir  dans  vne  laixiue  de 
cendres,  pour  vn  premier  boiiillon,  afin  d'en  olter  la 
plus  grande  [20]  amertume.  On  diftribuoit  aux 
autres  quelque  morceau  de  poiflon  enfum6,  qu'ils 
cuifoient  en  I'eau,  dont  par  apres  ils  fouflenoient 
leur  vie.  Ceux  qui  eftoient  les  mieux  partagez, 
receuoier^l;  vn  peu  de  farine  de  bled  d'Inde,  boiiillie 
dans  I'eau. 

Nous  auions  achepte  auant  que  les  neiges  euflent 


f  m 


1650] 


RELA  TION  OF  t*>4g-5o 


99 


of  these  poor  Savages,  who  every  day,  morning  and 
night,  filled  our  Church  that  they  might  there  render 
homage  to  God.  There  the  Sacraments  were  resorted 
to  with  great  devoutness;  the  Feast-days  and  Sun- 
days were  sanctifxcd  by  the  Piety  of  the  people,  [19] 
and  by  public  preachings.  The  boys  had  their  day 
in  the  week,  and  the  girls  their  separate  day,  for 
learning  the  Catechism. 

But  the  heaviest  part  of  our  work  lay  in  visiting 
the  cabins  for  the  purpose  of  consoling  the  afflicted, 
assisting  the  poor,  aiding  the  sick,  preparing  for 
death  those  who  were  nearest  to  it,  strengthening 
in  the  faith  the  Christians  and  catechumens,  and 
winning  unbelievers  to  Jesus  Christ. 

Our  Fathers,  in  making  these  visits,  considered 
the  poverty  of  each  person ;  and,  according  as  they 
deemed  it  advisable  to  aid  the  most  pressing  necessi- 
ties, they  made  use  of  a  kind  of  coin  which  they  went 
about  distributing  among  these  poor  people ;  it  was 
a  little  piece  of  copper,  stamped  for  this  purpose. 
All  who  had  received  it  as  an  alms  stood  at  our  door, 
about  Midday,  and  presented  their  small  coin.  To 
some  was  given  a  certain  quantity  of  acorns,  which 
they  cooked, —  first  boiling  them  in  a  lye  made  from 
ashes,  in  order  to  take  from  them  their  excessive 
[20]  bitterness.  We  distributed  to  others  a  small  por- 
tion of  smoked  fish,  which  they  cooked  in  water,  and 
on  it  kept  themselves  alive.  The  more  favored  among 
them  received  a  little  Indian  meal,  boiled  in  water. 

Before  the  snow  had  covered  the  ground,  we  had 
bought  five  or  six  hundred  bushels  of  acorns,  and 
had  despatched  several  canoes  to  procure  among  the 
Algonqiiin  Nations,  sixty,  eighty,  or  a  hundred 
leagues  away,  this  supply  of  fish.     The  little  corn 


100 


LES  RELATIONS  DES  jASUITES        [Vol.  35 


( 


'»! 


couuert  la  terre,  cinq  ou  fix  cents  boiffeaux  de  gland. 
Nous  auios  enuoie  quelques  canots,  pour  aller  cher- 
cher  parmy  les  Nations  Algonquines,  cette  prouifion 
de  poiffon,  k  foixante,  quatre-vingt,  &  cent  lieuSs  de 
Ik.  Ce  peu  que  nous  auios  de  bled,  venoit  du  trauail 
des  Hurons,  au  temps  de  I'abondance.  Vnde  exeunt 
flumina  reuertuntur.  C'eftoit  pour  eux,  auffi  bien  que 
pour  nous,  que  Dieu  nous  auoit  fourny  en  fon  temps 
cette  manne  du  Ciel:  car  c'eft  ainfi  que  i'appelle  les 
plus  grandes  richefles  que  nous  euffions,  lefquelles 
iflant  en  France,  i'eulTe  appell6  de  grandes  pauure- 
tez,  &  de  grandes  miferes.  La  nature  fe  contente  de 
peu,  &  d'ou  on  bannit  les  delices,  on  bannit  de  grands 
foins,  &  on  s'exempte  de  beau  coup  d'empreflemens, 
peu  neceffaires  k  vne  vie,  qui  apres  tout  [21]  ne  peut 
eftre  immortelle. 

Quantity  de  perfonnes  m'ont  pri6  de  leur  faire  f9a- 
uoir  I'ordre  que  nous  tenions,  pour  I'inftrudtion  de 
nos  Sauuages,  &  la  fuite  de  nos  employs  le  long  de 
la  iourn^e.  Ces  employs  n'eftans  pas  dans  I'efclat, 
&  n'ayans  point  de  fpe(5tateurs,  fmon  ceux  qu'on 
appelle  les  balieures  de  la  terre,  &  le  rebut  du  monde ; 
ce  que  ie  puis  refpondre  k  cette  demande,  ne  peut 
auoir  rien  d'efclattant  Ceux  toutefois  qui  ne  trou- 
uent  rien  de  petit,  dans  les  chofes  qui  concernent  le 
falut  des  ames,  puis  qu'ils  defirent  que  ie  defcende 
dans  ces  particalaritez,  &  que  c'eft  pour  eux  &  pour 
femblables  perfonnes  que  i'efcris  cecy,  ils  fgaurot 
qu'ayans  pris  pour  nous-mefmes,  deux  ou  trois  heures 
de  la  nuit,  pour  agir  auec  Dieu,  auant  que  d'agir 
auec  le  prochain;  Le  iour  eftant  venu,  les  Chreftiens 
venoietkl'Eglife,  ou  nous  referuions  quelques  Meffes 
pour   eux.      Les  prieres  s'y  faifoient   publiques,    k 


III 


i  "H'J 


»         ■'! 


1650] 


J?  EL  A  T/ON  OF  1649 -jo 


101 


we  had  was  the  produce  of  Huron  industry  in  times 
of  prosperity.  Unde  exeunt  flumina  revertuntur.  It 
was  fnr  them,  as  for  ourselves,  that  God  had  pro- 
vided, in  due  season,  this  manna  from  Heaven, —  for 
so  I  term  what  was  the  greatest  wealth  we  possessed, 
-'which,  in  France,  I  would  have  called  great  poverty 
and  misery.  Naiure  contents  herself  with  little; 
and,  whencesoever  gratifications  are  excluded,  great 
cares  also  are  banished,  and  men  are  relieved  from 
many  strong  desires, —  little  in  keeping  with  a  life 
which,  after  all,  [21]  cannot  be  immortal. 

Many  persons  have  begged  us  to  acquaint  them 
with  the  order  that  is  followed  in  the  instruction  of 
our  Savages,  and  the  course  of  our  occupations  dur- 
ing the  day.  As  these  employments  make  no  display, 
and  have  no  spectators,  save  those  whom  people  are 
wont  to  term  the  offscourings  of  the  earth,  or  the 
refuse  of  the  world,  the  reply  that  I  make  to  this 
inquiry  can  contain  in  it  nothing  remarkable.  Those, 
however,  who  do  not  regard  as  trifles  things  that 
concern  the  salvation  of  souls,  since  they  wish  me 
to  go  into  particulars, —  and  since  it  is  for  them,  and 
persons  like  them,  that  I  am  writing, —  let  them 
know  that,  having  reserved  to  ourselves  two  or  three 
hours  of  the  night  for  intercourse  with  God,  before 
occupying  ourselves  with  our  fellow-creatures,  at 
daylight  the  Christians  were  wont  to  assemble  in  the 
Church,  where  we  reserved  for  them  a  few  Masses. 
The  prayers  were  said  aloud,  for  the  reason  that, 
otherwise,  many  who  were  newly  converted  to  the 
faith  would  not  be  able  to  learn  them  so  readily. 
One  of  our  Fathers  presided  at  this  devotion,  and  all 
the  Savages  followed  him, —  repeating,  without  [22] 
haste,  the  same  words.     The  prayer  ended,  we  gave 


1 


^ 

1 


102 


LES  RELA  TIONS  DES  J&SUITES         [Vol.  36 


\\\ 


caufe  que  plufieurs  nouuellement  conuertys  "k  la  foy, 
ne  peuuent  pas  li  toft  les  apprendre.  Vn  de  nos 
Peres  prefidoit  k  cette  deuotion,  &  tous  les  Sauuages 
le  fuiuoient,  repetans  fans  [22]  empreflement  les 
mefmes  mots.  La  priere  acheu^e  on  donnoit  quel- 
que  inftrudtion  k  toute  rallembl^e;  quelquefois  leur 
expliquant  quelqu'vn  de  nos  myfteres;  d'autresfois, 
pour  les  confirmer  dans  la  foy,  on  leur  en  deduifoit 
quelques  motifs,  qui  nous  fembloiet  dauantage  dans  la 
port^e  de  leur  ef prit :  f ouuent  on  les  exhortoit  ^  quel- 
que  chofe  de  pratique,  afin  qu'ils  paffaffent  faintement 
laiourn^e,:  foit  qu'on  les  pouffaft  k  offrir  k  Dieu 
leurs  trauaux,  leurs  peines,  leurs  fouffrances;  foit 
qu'on  leur  donnat  quelque  Oraifon  iaculatoire,  qui 
fut  leur  entretien,  &  I'ame  de  tout  leur  trauail,  foit 
qu'on  leur  enfeignaft  les  moyens  de  refifter  aux  ten- 
tations ;  &  comment  y  ayant  f uccomb^  par  mal-heur, 
il  faut  auoir  recours  k  Dieu,  &  luy  en  demander 
pardon/  foit  enfin  qu'on  les  incitaft  k  fon  amour,  & 
aux  defirs  de  la  vie  eternelle. 

Cette  inftrudtion  eftant  finie,  &  la  plus  courte  qu'il 
f e  pouuoit ;  les  premiers  venus  fortoient,  &  les  autres 
demeuroient  pour  receuoir  auffi  I'inftrudlion,  ayans 
fait  les  prieres  publiques  comme  les  precedens.  La 
Chapelle  fe  remplifloit  en  [23]  cette  fagon,  dix  & 
douze  fois  vne  matinde.  Cependant  d' autres  Peres 
entendoient  les  confeffions,  &  felon  les  neceffitez  plus 
particulieres  d'vn  chacun,  ils  leur  donnoient  diuers 
aduis.  Souuent  en  vn  matin,  vn  feul  Pere  difoit  vn 
bon  mot,  k  cinquant  «&  foixante  perfonnes.  Les  plus 
longs  entretiens,  ne  font  pas  toufiours  ceux  qui 
penetrent  plus  auant  dans  le  coeur. 

Sur  les  neuf  heures  on  fermoit  la  porte  de  I'Eglife: 


Fl 


1/  . 


TT" 


1 


1650] 


/?ELA  TION  OF  1649  so 


103 


a  short  instruction  to  the  whole  assembly, —  some- 
times explaining  to  them  some  one  of  our  mysteries ; 
at  other  times,  that  we  might  strengthen  them  in  the 
faith,  deducing  from  it  such  motives  of  action  as 
seemed  to  us  more  within  the  grasp  of  their  minds. 
Oftentimes,  we  exhorted  them  to  something  prac- 
tical, with  a  view  to  their  passing  holily  the  day, — 
whether  it  were  by  urging  them  to  offer  to  God  their 
labors,  their  pains,  and  their  sufferings ;  or  by  giving 
them  some  ejaculatory  Prayer  that  should  be  their 
support,  and  the  life  of  all  their  work ;  or  by  teaching 
them  the  means  of  resisting  temptation,  and  how,  if 
through  misfortune  they  had  yielded  to  it,  they 
should  betake  themselves  to  God,  and  ask  his  pardon ; 
or,  in  fine,  by  inciting  them  to  love  of  him,  and  to 
desires  of  eternal  life. 

This  instruction  ended,  and  made  as  short  as  pos- 
sible, the  first  comers  withdrew ;  others  remained,  in 
order  to  receive  instruction  also,  having  first  joined 
in  the  public  prayers,  like  those  who  had  preceded 
them.  The  Chapel  was  filled,  [23]  thus,  ten  or  a 
dozen  times  a  morning.  Meanwhile,  others  of  the 
Fathers  heard  confessions,  and,  in  accordance  with 
the  special  needs  of  each  one,  gave  them  various 
advice.  Often,  in  the  course  of  a  morning,  a  single 
Father  would  say  an  appropriate  word  to  fifty  or 
sixty  persons.  The  longest  discourses  are  not  always 
those  that  sink  most  deeply  into  the  heart. 

At  nine  o'clock,  the  door  of  the  Church  was  shut, 
and  it  was  then  that  our  Fathers  went  to  the  cabins 
to  make  their  visitations,  continuing  these  till  about 
two  hours  before  night.  For  then,  following  the 
example  of  the  morning,  we  rang  the  bell  to  recall 
the  Christians  to  public  prayer,  the  Church  being 


1I 


■ 


n 


<  I 


\ ,' 


104 


LES  RELATIONS  DES  jtSUITES         [Vol.  35 


Pi 


I/ 


II 


^\ 


mi 
% 


&  c'eftoit  alors  que  nos  Peres  alloiet  dans  les  cabanes, 
y  faire  leurs  vifites,  iufqu'enuiron  deux  heures  auant 
la  nuit.  Car  alors  on  fonnoit  pour  rappeller  les  Chre- 
fliens  aux  prieres  publiques,  en  la  mefme  fa5on  qu'on 
les  auoit  fait  le  matin,  I'Eglife  fe  remplilTant  &  fe 
vuidant  dix  ou  douze  fois  pour  le  moins,  &  c'efl  pour 
lors  que  plufieurs  de  ces  bons  Neophytes  redolent 
conte  de  leur  iournee,  felon  que  ceux  qui  auoient  le 
foin  d'vn  chacun,  les  arreftoiet  k  la  porte  pour  c6t  effet, 
taiitoft  I'vn  tantoft  I'autre;  pour  fgauoir  en  vn  mot, 
€6bien  de  fois  ils  auoient  pens^  k  Dieu  le  long  du  iour : 
en  quoy  ils  luy  auoient  efl6  plus  fideles:  s'ils  luy 
auoient  offert  leur  trauail,  leur  [24]  f aim,  &  leur  mif ere : 
s'ils  n'auoient  point  commis  quelque  faute.  Cela  fe 
fait  auec  vne  candeur  qui  n'a  rien  de  barbare,  &  auec 
vne  fimplicit6  d' enfant;  qui  eft  vne  marque  infaillible 
de  I'efprit  de  Dieu.  Toullours  la  nuit  nous  furpre- 
noit  pluftoft  que  nous  ne  defirions :  mais  neantmoins 
nous  la  receuions  auec  amour,  elle  feule  nous 
donnant  le  loifir  de  retourner  auec  Dieu ;  fi  toutef ois 
on  pent  fortir  de  luy,  lors  qu'on  ne  parle  que  de 
luy,  qu'on  n'agit  que  pour  luy,  qu'on  vit  en  luy,  dans 
I'attente  de  ne  mourir  iamais  pour  autre  que  pour 
luy. 

C'eftoient  Ik  nos  employs,  au  milieu  de  cette  bar- 
barie  deuenue  Chreftienne:  c'eftoit  ainfl  que  Dieu 
alloit  difpofant  ces  peuples  pour  le  Ciel,  les  voyant 
proches  de  leur  ruine.  Nous  I'allons  voir  dans  les 
Chapitres  fuiuans. 


I  ■■' 


i>,a.u'«!ijuwrMw 


1650] 


HELA  TION  OF  164(^30 


105 


filled  and  emptied  at  least  ten  or  twelve  times.  It 
was  then,  too,  that  many  of  these  good  Neophytes 
gave  in  their  account  of  the  day,  as  those  who  had 
charge  of  each  one  detained  them  at  the  door  for  that 
purpose, —  sometimes  one,  sometimes  another,  to 
learn,  in  a  word,  how  often,  throughout  the  day, 
they  had  thought  upon  God ;  in  what  they  had  been 
the  most  true  to  him ;  if  they  had  offered  to  him 
their  labor,  their  [24]  hunger,  their  misery;  if  they 
had  not  committed  some  fault.  Such  questions  were 
answered  with  a  frankness  that  showed  nothing  of 
the  barbarous,  and  —  which  is  an  infallible  indication 
of  the  spirit  of  God  —  with  the  simplicity  of  a  child. 
The  night  always  came  upon  us  sooner  than  we 
desired;  nevertheless,  it  was  welcomed  by  us  with 
pleasure,  for  it  alone  afforded  us  the  leisure  for  going 
back  to  God, — if,  indeed,  they  can  depart  from  him, 
who  never  speak  but  of  him  or  act  but  for  him,  and 
who  live  in  him,  in  the  earnest  expectation  of  never 
dying  but  for  his  sake. 

Such  were  our  employments  in  the  midst  of  that 
barbarism  become  Christian.  It  was  thus  that  God 
proceeded  to  prepare  this  people  for  Heaven,  perceiv- 
ing them  to  be  near  to  their  destruction.  This  we 
shall  see  in  the  Chapters  which  follow. 


(4  = 


<■' 


I 


106 


LES  RELA  TJONS  DES  jfi.SUITES  [Vol.  36 


[25]  CHAPiTRE  III. 


DE     LA     PRISE     &     DESOLATION     DE     LA     MISSION 
SAINCT  lEAN,    PAR    LES    IROQUOIS,   &    DE    LA 
MORT  DU  P.  CHARLES  GARNIER,  QUI 
Y    ESTOIT    EN    MISSION. 


DE 


I 


111 


DANS  les  Montagnes,  que  nous  nommons  la 
Nation  du  Petun,  nous  y  anions  depuis  quel- 
ques  ann^es  deux  Miffions:  en  chacune  il  y 
auoit  deux  de  nos  Peres.  La  plus  frontiere  k  I'enne- 
my,  eftoit  celle  qui  portoit  le  nom  de  Saint  lean ; 
dont  le  bourg  principal,  qui  s'appelloit  du  mefme 
nom,  eftoit  d'enuiron  cinq  k  fix  cent  families. 
C'eftoit  vn  champ  arrous6  des  fueurs  d'vn  des  plus 
excellens  Miffionaires,  qui  ayt  eft6  en  ces  pai's,  le  Pere 
Charles  Garnier;  qui  le  deuoit  auffi  arroufer  de  fon 
fang,  puis  qu'il  y  eft  mort  auec  fon  troupeau,  qu'il  a 
conduit  luy-mefme  iufque  dans  le  Paradis;  le  iour 
approchant  auquel  Dieu  vouloit  faire  vne  Eglife 
triomphante,  de  celle  qui  iufqu'alors  [26]  auoit 
toufiours  eft6  dans  les  combats,  &  qui  pouuoit  porter 
le  nom  d'vne  Eglife  vrayement  fouffrante,  nous  en 
eufmes  nouuelles  fur  la  fin  du  mois  de  Nouembre, 
par  deux  Chreftiens  Hurons  efchappez  d'vne  bande 
d'enuiron  trois  cents  Iroquois,  qui  nous  dirent  que 
I'ennemy  eftoit  encore  irrefolu,  quelle  demarche  il 
prendroit,  ou  vers  la  Nation  du  Petun,  ou  contre  I'lfle 
ou  nous  eftions.  La  deflus  nous  nous  tenons  en 
eftat   de   deffenfe,  &    arreftames    nos    Hurons,    qui 


I 


1650J 


RELA  TION  OF  1649-30 


107 


il 
fle 
en 

ui 


[25]  CHAPTER  III. 

OF  THE   CAPTURE  AND   DEVASTATION   OF   THE   MISSION 

OF  SAINT  JEAN,  BY  THE  IROQUOIS;   AND  OF  THE 

DEATH    OF   FATHER     CHARLES    GARNIER, 

WHO    WAS     MISSIONARY     THERE. 

IN  the  Mountains,  the  people  of  which  we  name 
the  Tobacco  Nation,  we  have  had,  for  some  years 
past,  two  Missions;  in  each  were  two  of  our 
Fathers.  The  one  nearest  to  the  enemy  was  that 
which  bore  the  name  of  Saint  Jean;  its  principal 
village,  called  by  the  same  name,  contained  about 
five  or  six  hundred  families. ^^  It  was  a  field  watered 
by  the  sweat  of  one  of  the  most  excellent  Mission- 
aries who  had  dwelt  in  these  regions.  Father  Charles 
Garniei, — who  was  also  to  water  it  with  his  blood, 
since  there  both  he  and  his  flock  have  met  death,  he 
himself  leading  them  even  unto  Paradise.  The  day 
approaching  in  which  God  would  make  a  Church  tri- 
umphant of  that  which,  up  to  that  time,  [26]  had 
always  been  in  warfare,  and  whi' h  could  bear  the 
name  of  a  Church  truly  suffering,  we  received  intel- 
ligence of  it,  toward  the  close  of  the  month  of 
November,  from  two  Christian  Hurons,  escaped  from 
a  band  of  about  three  hundred  Iroquois,  who  told  us 
that  the  enemy  was  still  irresolute  as  to  what  meas- 
ures he  would  take, —  whether  against  the  Tobacco 
Nation,  or  against  the  Island  on  which  we  were. 
Thereupon,  we  kept  ourselves  in  a  state  of  defense, 
and  detained  our  Hurons,  who  had  purposed  taking 


'-         \ 


% 


I      i 


108 


LES  RELA  TIONS  PES  JASUITES         [Vol.  86 


\\\ 


} 


I   ! 


\i\ 


prenoient  deffein  de  fortir  en  campagne,  pour  aller  au 
deuat  de  c^t  ennemy.  En  mefme  teps  nous  fifmes 
porter  promptement  cette  nouuelle  k  ceux  de  la 
Nation  du  Petun,  qui  la  receurent  auec  ioye,  enui- 
fageans  cette  trouppe  ennemie,  come  defia  vaincuS, 
&  come  vne  matiere  de  leur  triomphe.  lis  I'atten- 
dent  quelques  iours  de  pied  ferme;  puis  s'ennuyans 
que  la  vidtoire  fut  fi  tardiue  k  les  venir  trouuer,  ils 
voulurent  luy  aller  au  rencontre ;  au  moins  les  habi- 
tans  du  bourg  de  Saint  lean,  hommes  de  main  &  de 
courage.  Ils  haftent  leur  fortie,  craignans  que  1' Iro- 
quois ne  leur  efchappe,  le  voulans  [27]  furprendre, 
lors  qu'il  eft  encore  en  chemin,  lis  partent  le 
cinquiefme  iour  du  mois  de  Decembre,  &  prennent 
leur  route,  vers  le  lieu  d'oti  ils  attendent  I'ennemy: 
mais  I'ennemy  ayant  pris  vn  detour,  ne  fut  pas  ren- 
contre, &  par  vn  furcroift  de  malheur  pour  nous, 
comme  il  faifoit  fes  approches  du  bourg,  il  fit  prife 
d'vn  home  &  d'vne  femme  qui  venoient  d'en  fortir. 
II  apprend  de  ces  deux  captifs  I'eftat  de  la  place,  & 
fgait  qu'elle  efl  depourueue  de  la  meilleure  partie  de 
fon  monde,  fans  delay,  il  hafte  le  pas,  pour  y  mettre 
tout  k  feu  &  k  fang,  I'occafion  luy  en  eftant  fi  fauo- 
rable. 

Ce  fut  le  feptiefme  iour  du  mois  de  Decembre 
dernier  de  I'ann^e  1649.  fur  les  trois  heures  apres 
midy,  que  cette  troupe  d' Iroquois  parut  aux  portes 
de  ce  bourg,  I'efpouuante  &  la  terreur  fe  iette  incon- 
tinent dans  tout  ce  pauure  peuple  d6poiiill<5  de  fes 
forces,  qui  fe  trouue  vaincu,  lors  qu'il  penfoit  eftre 
vainqueur.  Les  vns  prennent  la  fuite;  les  autres 
font  tiiez  fur  la  place/  le  feu  en  donna  k  plufieurs  les 
premieres  nouuelles,  qui  confommoit  defia  vne  partie 


N 


1650] 


RELA  TION  OF  1649-50 


10» 


the  field  to  meet  that  enemy.  At  the  same  time,  we 
caused  the  tidings  to  be  speedily  conveyed  to  the 
people  of  the  Tobacco  Nation,  who  received  it  with 
joy,  regarding  that  hostile  band  as  already  con- 
quered, and  as  occasion  for  their  triumph.  They 
resolutely  awaited  them  for  some  days;  then,  weary- 
ing because  victory  was  so  slowly  coming  to  them, 
they  desired  to  go  to  meet  it, —  at  least,  the  inhabitants 
of  the  village  of  Saint  Jean,  men  of  enterprise  and 
valor.  They  hastened  their  attack,  fearing  lest  the 
Iroquois  should  escape  them,  and  desiring  [27]  to 
surprise  the  latter  while  they  were  still  on  the  road. 
They  set  out  on  the  fifth  day  of  the  month  of  Decem- 
ber, directing  their  route  toward  the  place  where  the 
enemy  was  expected.  But  the  latter,  having  taken 
a  roundabout  way,  was  not  met ;  and,  to  crown  our 
misfortunes,  the  enemy,  as  they  approached  the 
village,  seized  upon  a  man  and  woman  who  had  just 
come  out  of  it.  They  learned  from  these  two  cap- 
tives the  condition  of  the  place,  and  ascertained  that 
it  was  destitute  of  the  better  part  of  its  people. 
Losing  no  time,  they  quickened  their  pace  that  they 
might  lay  waste  everything,  opportunity  so  greatly 
favoring  them. 

It  was  on  the  seventh  day  of  the  month  of  last 
December,  in  the  year  1649,  toward  three  o'clock  in 
the  afternoon,  that  this  band  of  Iroquois  appeared  at 
the  gates  of  the  village,  spreading  immediate  dismay, 
and  striking  terror  into  all  those  poor  people, —  bereft 
of  their  strength,  and  finding  themselves  vanquished, 
when  they  thought  to  be  themselves  the  conquerors. 
Some  took  to  flight ;  others  were  slain  on  the  spot. 
To  many,  the  flames,  which  were  already  consuming 
some  of  their  cabins,  gave  the  first  intelligence  of 


I: 


I 


Jl 


110 


LES  RELA  TIONS  DES  /^SUITES        [Vol.  3ft 


W 


./li 


h 


de  leurs  cabanes.  Quantity  furent  pris  captifs:  mais 
[28]  rennemy  vic5lorieux,  craignant  le  retour  des 
guerriers,  qui  luy  elloient  allez,  au  rencontre  halloit 
^i  precipitemment  fa  retraite,  qu'il  fit  main  bade  fur 
tous  les  vieillars  &  enfans,  &  fur  tous  ceux  qu'il  ne 
iugeoit  pas  pouuoir  le  fuiure  affez  promptement  en 
fa  fui'te. 

Ce  furent  des  cruautez  inconceuables.  On  arra- 
choit  h.  vne  Mere  fes  enfans  pour  les  ietter  au  feu : 
d'autres  enfans  voyoiet  leur  Mere  afTommde  h  leurs 
pieds,  ou  gemilTante  dans  les  flammes,  fans  qu'il  leur 
fuft  permis,  ny  aux  vns,  ny  aux  autres,  d'en  tefmoi- 
gner  aucune  compaflion.  C'efloit  vn  crime  de 
refpandre  vne  larme;  ces  barbares  voulans  qu'on 
marchaft  dans  la  captiuit(3,  comme  ils  marchoient 
dans  leur  triomphe.  Vne  pauure  Mere  Chrettienne, 
qui  pleuroit  la  mort  de  fon  enfant,  fut  tu6e  fur  la 
place,  k  caufe  qu'elle  auoit  encor  de  I'amour,  & 
qu'elle  ne  pouuoit  eftouffer  affez  toft  les  fentimens 
de  la  Nature. 

Le  Pere  Charles  Gamier  reftoit  alors  feul  de  nos 
Peres,  en  cette  Miffion,  lors  que  les  ennemis  paru- 
rent,  il  eftoit  adluellemet  occup6  k  inftruire  ce  peuple 
das  leurs  cabanes  qu'il  vifitoit.  II  fort  au  bruit  de 
[29]  cette  alarme.  II  va  droit  h  I'Eglife,  ou  il  trouua 
quelques  Chrefties.  Nous  somes  morts,  mes  freres, 
leur  dit-il,  Priez  Dieu,  &  prenez  la  fuyte,  par  oh.  vous 
pourr^s  efchaper.  Port^s  voftre  foy  auec  vous  le 
refte  de  vos  vies,  &  que  la  mort  vous  trouue  fongeans 
k  Dieu,  il  leur  donne  fa  benedidtion,  Sc  reffort 
promptement,  pour  aller  au  fecours  des  ames.  Pas 
vn  ne  fonge  k  la  deffenfe,  tout  eflant  dans  le  defef- 
poir.     Plufieurs  trouuent  vne  iffue   fauorable   pour 


h 


1680] 


RELA  TION  OF  1649-30 


111 


/    ', 


the  disaster.  Many  were  taken  prisoners;  but  [28] 
the  victorious  enemy,  fearing  the  return  of  the 
warriors  who  had  gone  to  meet  them,  hastened  their 
retreat  so  precipitately,  that  they  put  to  death  all 
the  old  men  and  children,  and  all  whom  they  deemed 
unable  to  keep  up  with  them  in  their  flight. 

It  was  a  scene  of  incredible  cruelty.  The  enemy 
snatched  from  a  Mother  her  infants,  that  they  might 
be  thrown  into  the  fire ;  other  children  beheld  their 
Mothers  beaten  to  death  at  their  feet,  or  groaning 
in  the  flames, —  permission,  in  either  case,  being 
denied  them  to  show  the  least  compassion.  It  was  a 
crime  to  shed  a  tear,  these  barbarians  demanding 
that  their  prisoners  should  go  into  captivity  as  if 
they  were  marching  to  their  triumph.  A  poor  Chris- 
tian Mother,  who  wept  for  the  death  of  her  infant, 
was  killed  on  the  spot,  because  she  still  loved,  and 
could  not  stifle  soon  enough  her  Natural  feelings. 

Father  Charles  Garnier  was,  at  that  time,  the  only 
one  of  our  Fathers  in  that  Mis.sion.  When  the  enemy 
appeared,  he  was  just  then  occupied  with  instructing 
the  people  in  the  cabins  which  he  was  visiting.  At 
the  noise  of  the  alarm,  he  went  out,  [29]  going 
straight  to  the  Church,  where  he  found  some  Chris- 
tians. "  We  are  dead  men,  my  brothers,"  he  said 
to  them.  "Pray  to  God,  and  flee  by  whatever  way 
you  may  be  able  to  escape.  Bear  about  with  you 
your  faith  through  what  of  life  remains ;  and  may 
death  find  you  with  God  in  mind."  T"e  gave  thenx 
his  blessing,  then  left  hurriedly,  to  go  to  the  help 
of  souls.  A  prey  to  despair,  not  one  dreamed  of 
defense.  Several  found  a  favorable  exit  for  their 
flight ;  they  implored  the  Father  to  flee  with  them, 
but   the    bonds    of    Charity    restrained    him.      All 


.  I 


112 


LES  RELA  TIONS  DES  jtSUITES         [Vol.  35 


leur  fuyte.  lis  inuitent  le  Pere  de  fuyraaeceux: 
mais  il  eft  retenu  par  les  lies  de  la  Charity,  il 
s'oublie  de  foi-mefme,  &  il  ne  penfe  qu'au  falut  du 
prochain.  Son  zele  le  portoit,  &  le  faifoit  courir  par 
tout:  foit  pour  donner  I'abfolution  aux  Chreftiens, 
qu'il  auoit  au  rencontre;  foit  pour  cherci  er  dans  les 
cabanes  toutes  en  feu,  des  enfans,  des  malades,  & 
des  catechumenes,  fur  lefquels  il  refpandoit  les  eaux 
du  Saint  Baptefme,  au  milieu  de  ces  flammes.  Son 
coeur  ne  brufloit  d'autre  feu,  que  de  Tamour  de  Dieu. 

Ce  fut  dans  ces  employs  de  Saindlet6,  qu'il  fe  vit 
accueilly  de  la  mort,  qu'il  enuifageoit  fans  la  craindre 
n'y  fans  reculer  [30]  d'vn  feul  pas.  Vn  coup  de  fufil 
le  perga  d'vne  balle,  vn  pen  au  delTous  de  la  poitrine: 
vne  autre  balle,  du  mefme  coup,  luy  d(Schira  le  petit 
ventre,  &  luy  donna  dans  vne  cuiffe,  dont  il  fut  ter- 
rafs*6.  Mais  fon  courage  n'en  fut  pas  abbatu.  Le 
barbare  qui  auoit  fait  ce  coup,  le  defpoiiilla  de  fa 
fotane,  &  le  laifCa  nageant  dedans  fon  fang,  afin  de 
fuiure  les  autres  fugitifs. 

Ce  bon  Pere,  fort  peu  de  temps  apres,  fut  veu 
ioindre  les  mains,  faifant  quelque  priere.  Puis  tour- 
nant  la  tefte  9k  &  Ik,  il  apperceut  k  dix  ou  douze  pas 
de  foy,  vn  pauure  Moribond,  qui  venoit  aufli  bien 
que  luy,  de  receuoir  le  coup  de  la  mort,  mais  qui 
auoit  encore  quelques  reftes  de  vie.  L'amour  de 
Dieu  &  le  zele  des  Ames,  eft  encore  plus  fort  que  la 
mort.  II  fe  met  k  genoux ;  puis  ayant  fait  quelque 
priere,  il  fe  leue  auec  peine,  &  fe  porte  le  mieux 
qu'il  pent  vers  c^t  agonizant,  pour  I'affifter  k  bien 
mourir.  II  n'auoit  pas  fait  trois  ou  quatre  demarches, 
qu'il  retombe  encor  aflez  rudement.  II  fe  leue 
pour  la  feconde  fois,  &  fe  met  encore  k  genoux,  & 


...  V    -r,^ 


1660] 


RELA  TION  OF  1649-50 


US 


unmindful  of  himself,  he  thoiight  only  of  the  salva- 
tion of  his  neighbor.  Borne  on  by  his  zeal,  he 
hastened  everywhere, —  either  to  give  absolution  to 
the  Christians  whom  he  met,  or  tc  seek,  in  the  burn- 
ing cabins,  the  children,  the  sick,  or  the  catechu- 
mens, over  whom,  in  the  midst  of  the  flames,  he 
poured  the  waters  of  Holy  Baptism,  his  own  heart 
burning  with  no  other  fire  than  che  love  of  God. 

It  was  while  thys  engaged  in  Holy  work  that  he 
was  encoantered  by  the  u^ath  which  he  had  looked 
in  the  face  without  fearing  it,  or  receding  from  it 
[30]  a  single  step.  A  bullet  from  a  muskel  struck 
him,  penetrating  a  little  below  the  breast;  another, 
from  the  same  volley,  tore  open  his  stomach,  lodging 
in  the  thigh,  and  bringing  him  to  the  ground.  His 
courage,  however,  was  unabated.  The  barbarian 
who  had  fired  the  shot  stripped  him  of  his  cassock, 
and  left  him,  weltering  in  his  blood,  to  pursue  the 
other  fugitives. 

This  good  Father,  a  very  short  tiine  after,  was 
seen  to  clasp  his  hands,  offering  some  prayer;  then, 
looking  about  him,  he  perceived,  at  a  distance  of  ten 
or  twelve  paces,  a  poor  dying  Man, —  who,  like  him- 
self, had  received  the  stroke  of  death,  but  had  still 
some  remains  of  life.  Love  of  God,  and  zeal  for 
Souls,  were  even  stronger  than  death.  Murmuring  a 
few  words  of  prayer,  he  struggled  to  his  knees,  and, 
rising  with  difficulty,  dragged  himself  as  best  he 
might  toward  the  sufferer,  in  order  to  assist  him  in 
dying  well.  He  had  made  but  three  or  four  steps, 
when  he  fell  again,  somewhat  heavily.  Raising 
himself  for  the  second  time,  he  got,  once  more,  upon 
his  knees  and  strove  to  continue  on  his  way ;  but  his 
body,  drained  [31]  of  its  blood,  which  was  flowing  in 


11. 


A 


k 


J< 


114 


LES  RELA  TIONS  DES  /^SUITES         [Vol.  85 


11 


I 

1   i 


yi  i 


k  ; 


i\ 


pourf uit  fon  mefme  chemin :  mais  fon  corps  efpuis6 
[31]  de  fon  fang,  nni  fort  en  abondance  de  fes  playes, 
n'efl  pas  fi  fort  que  fon  courage;  il  retombe  pour  la 
troifiefme  fois,  n'ayat  fait  que  quatre  ou  cinq  pas. 
Nous  n'auons  pu  f9auoir  ce  qu'il  fit  du  depuis:  vne 
bonne  Chreftienne,  qui  nous  ^  fait  fidelement  tout  ce 
rapport,  n'en  ayant  pas  veu  dauantage;  k  caufe  qu'vn 
Iroquois  la  furprit  elle  mefme,  &  luy  d^chargea  fur 
la  tefte  vn  coup  de  hache-d'armes,  qui  la  terraffa  fur 
le  lieu;  quoy  que  depuis  elle  en  foit  rechap^e.  Le 
Pere  recent  quelque  temps  apres,  deux  coups  de 
hache,  fur  les  deux  tempes,  de  part  &  d' autre,  qui 
enfon9oivint  dans  la  ceruelle,  c'eftoit  la  recompenfe 
la  plus  riche  qu'il  efperaft  de  la  bont^  de  Dieu,  pour 
tons  les  feruices  paffez  Son  corps  fut  defpouill^,  & 
laille  tout  nud  fur  la  place. 

Deux  de  nos  Peres,  qui  eftoient  dans  la  Miffion  la 
plus  voifme,  receurent  quelques  reftes  de  ces  pauures 
Chrelliens  fugitifs,  qui  y  arriuoient  hors  d'haleine; 
plufieurs  tons  couuerts  de  leur  fang.  Toute  la  nuidt, 
ce  ne  furent  qu'alarmes,  dans  la  crainte  oil  tout  le 
monde  eftoit  d'vn  femblable  malheur.  Sur  le  com- 
mencement [32]  du  iour,  on  apprit  par  quelques 
efpions  que  I'ennemy  s'eftoit  retire.  Ces  deux  Peres 
partent  d^s  le  mefme  moment,  afin  de  voir  eux- 
mef mes  de  leurs  yeux,  vn  f pedlacle  bien  trifle :  mais 
toutefois  digne  de  Dieu.  lis  ne  trouuent  que  des 
cadaures,  les  vns  deffus  les  autres;  &  de  pauures 
Chrelliens :  les  vns  qui  acheuoient  de  f e  confommer 
das  les  reliques  deplorables  de  ce  bourg  tout  en  feu ; 
les  autres,  ncyez  dans  leurs  fang;  &  d'aucuns  qui 
auoient  quelques  relies  de  vie,  mais  tons  couuers  de 
playes,  qui  n'attendoient  rien  que  la  mort,  beniffans 


1660] 


RELA  TION  OF  164^-50 


115 


abundance  from  his  wounds,  had  not  the  strength  of 
his  courage.  For  the  third  time  he  fell,  having 
proceeded  but  five  or  six  steps.  Further  than  this,  we 
have  not  been  able  to  ascertain  what  he  accom- 
plished,—  the  good  Christian  woman  who  faithfully 
related  all  this  to  us  having  seen  no  more  of  him, 
being  herself  overtaken  by  an  Iroquois,  who  struck 
her  on  the  head  with  a  war-hatchet,  felling  her  upon 
the  spot,  though  she  afterward  escaped.  The  Father, 
shortly  after,  received  from  a  hatchet  two  blows  upon 
the  temples,  one  on  either  side,  which  penetrated  to 
the  brain.  To  him  it  was  the  recompense  for  all 
past  services,  the  richest  he  had  hoped  for  from 
God's  goodness.  His  body  was  stripped,  and  left, 
entirely  naked,  where  it  lay. 

Two  of  our  Fathers,  who  were  in  the  nearest  neigh- 
boring Mission,  received  a  remnant  of  these  poor 
fugitive  Christians,  who  arrived  all  out  of  breath, 
many  of  them  all  covered  with  their  own  blood. 
The  night  was  one  of  continual  alarm,  owing  to  the 
fear,  which  had  seized  all,  of  a  similar  misfortune. 
Toward  the  break  [32]  of  day,  it  was  ascertained 
from  certain  spies  that  the  enemy  had  retired.  The 
two  Fathers  at  once  set  out,  that  they  might  them- 
selves look  upon  a  spectacle  most  sad  indeed,  but 
nevertheless  acceptable  to  God.  They  found  only 
dead  bodies  heaped  together,  and  the  remains  of 
poor  Christians, — some  who  were  almost  consumed 
in  the  pitiable  remains  of  the  still  burning  village ; 
others  deluged  with  their  own  blood ;  and  a  few  who 
yet  showed  some  signs  of  life,  but  were  all  covered 
with  wounds, —  looking  only  for  death,  and  blessing 
God  in  their  wretchedness.  At  length,  in  the  midst 
of  that  desolated  village,  they  descried  the  body  they 


'a  \ 


4 


ill 


•  • 


116 


;H 


I! 


II 


f'l' 


LBS  RELA  TIONS  DES  JJ^SUITES         [Vol.  3& 


Dieu  dans  leur  malheur.  Enfin,  au  milieu  de  ce 
bourg  defol6  ils  y  apperceurent  le  corps,  qu'ils  y 
eftoient  venus  chercher:  mais  fi  peu  connoiffable, 
eftant  tout  couuert  de  fon  fang,  &  des  cendres  de  c6t 
incendie,  qu'ils  paffoient  outre;  mais  quelques 
Sauuages  Chreftiens,  reconnurent  leur  Pere,  qui  eftoit 
mort  pour  leur  amour.  lis  I'enterrent  au  mefme 
lieu,  ou  aucit  *^ft;6  leur  Eglife;  quoy  qu'il  n'en  reftaft 
plus  aucune  marque,  le  feu  ayant  tout  cons6m6. 

La  paauret6  de  c6t  enterrement  fut  grande ;  mais 
fa  faindtet6  n'en  fut  pas  [33]  moindre.  Ces  deux  bons 
Peres  fe  defpoiiillerent  d'vne  partie  de  leurs  habits, 
pour  en  couurir  le  mort;  &  ne  purent  faire  dauan- 
tage,  k  moins  que  de  s'en  retourner  tout  nuds. 

Ce  fut  vn  bien  riche  d^poft,  pour  vn  lieu  fi  aban- 
donn6,  que  le  corps  d'vn  fi  grand  feruiteur  de  Dieu: 
mais  ce  grand  Dieu  trouuerra  bien  les  moyens  de 
nous  reiinir  tous  dans  le  Ciel,  puifque  ce  n'eft  qu'v- 
niquement  pour  fon  amour,  que  nous  fommes  ainfi 
difperfez,  &  durant  noftre  vie,  &  apres  noftre  mort. 

La  crainte  que  I'ennemy  ayant  fait  quelque  feinte, 
ne  retournall  fur  fes  brisees,  obligea  tout  ce  conuoy 
de  charity  de  repartir  le  mefme  iour,  &  fans  delay, 
&  retourner  en  hafte,  d'oii  ils  eftoient  partis,  fans 
boire  &  fans  manger,  par  des  chemins  fafcheux,  & 
en  vne  faifon  bien  penible,  la  neige  ayant  defia 
couuert  la  terre. 

Deux  iours  apres  la  prife  &  I'incendie  de  ce  bourg, 
les  habitans  retournerent,  qui  ayans  trouu^  la  d-- 
marche qu'auoit  pris  I'ennemy  par  vn  autre  chemin, 
s'eftoient  doutez  du  malheur  arriu^.  Mais  ils  le 
virent  de  leurs  yeux,  &  k  la  veue  des  [34]  cendres,  & 
des  corps  morts  de  leurs  parens,  de  leurs  femmes,  & 


1650] 


RELA  TION  OF  1649-50 


IIT 


m, 
le 
& 
& 


had  come  to  seek;  but  so  little  cognizable  was  it, 
being  completely  covered  with  its  blood,  and  the 
ashes  of  the  fire,  that  they  passed  it  by.  Some 
Christian  Savages,  however,  recognized  their  Father, 
who  had  died  for  love  of  them.  They  buried  him 
in  the  same  spot  on  which  their  Church  had  stood, 
although  there  remained  no  longer  any  vestige  of  it, 
the  fire  having  consumed  all. 

The  poverty  of  that  burial  was  sublime,  and  its 
sanctity  no  [33]  less  so.  The  two  good  Fathers 
divested  themselves  of  part  of  their  apparel,  to  cover 
therewith  the  dead;  they  could  do  no  more,  unless 
it  were  to  return  entirely  unclothed. 

It  was  truly  a  rich  treasure  to  deposit  in  so  deso- 
late a  spot,  the  body  of  so  noble  a  servant  of  God ; 
but  that  great  God  will  surely  find  a  way  to  reunite 
us  all  in  Heaven,  since  it  is  for  his  sake  alone  that  we 
are  thus  scattered,  both  during  life  and  after  death. 

Dread  lest  the  enemy,  having  made  but  a  show  of 
departure,  might  retrace  his  steps,  constrained  all 
that  escort  of  love  to  set  out  again  that  same  day, 
and,  without  losing  time,  to  return,  as  speedily  as 
possible,  to  the  place  whence  they  had  departed, — 
without  food  or  drink ;  by  roads  difficult  of  passage ; 
and  at  a  most  fatiguing  season,  as  the  snow  had 
already  covered  the  ground. 

Two  days  after  the  taking  and  burning  of  the 
village,  its  inhabitants  returned, —  who,  having  dis- 
covered the  change  of  plan  which  had  led  the  enemy 
to  take  another  route,  had  had  their  suspicions  of  the 
misfortune  that  had  happened.  But  now  they  beheld 
it  with  their  own  eyes ;  and  at  the  sight  of  the  [34] 
ashes,  and  the  dead  bodies  of  their  relatives,  their 
wives,  and  their  children,  they  maintained  for  half 


I; 


if 


i 


118 


LES  RELA  TIONS  DES  jASUlTES         [Vol.  36 


Hi 
r 

I 


de  leurs  enfans;  ils  furent  vne  demy-iourn^e  dans 
vn  profond  filence ;  affis  k  terre,  k  la  fauuage,  &  fans 
leuer  les  yeux,  ny  pouffer  mefme  aucun  fonfpir, 
comme  des  ftatues  de  marbre,  fans  parole,  fans 
regars,  &  fans  mouuement.  Car  c'eft  Ik  le  dueil  des 
Sauuages ;  au  moins  des  hommes  &  des  guerriers :  les 
larmes,  les  plaintes  &  les  crys  eftant,  difent-ils,  pour 
les  femmes. 

La  perte  &  du  Pafteur  &  du  troupeau  nous  ont  eft6 
fenllbles;  mais  il  faut  qu'en  I'vn  &  en  I'autre  nous 
adorions  &  nous  aimions  les  conduites  de  Dieu  fur 
nous,  &  fur  nos  Eglifes,  &  que  nous  foyons  difpofez 
d'agreer  iufqu'k  la  fin  tout  ce  qu'il  voudra. 

Le  Pere  Charles  Garnier  nafquit  k  Paris  Tannic 
1605.  il  entra  en  noftre  Compagnie  I'annde  1624.  & 
ainfi  il  n'auoit  guere  plus  de  44.  ans,  le  7.  Decembre 
1649.  iour  auquel  il  mourut  dans  1' employ  vrayement 
Apoftolique,  dans  lequel  il  auoit  vefcu,  depuis  I'an 
1636.  qu'il  quitta  la  France,  &  monta  dans  le  pais  des 
Hurons. 

[35]  Des  fon  enfance  il  auoit  eu  des  fentimens  de 
piete  tres-tendres,  &  principalement  vn  amour  filial 
k  I'endroit  de  la  tres-faindte  Vierge,  qu'il  appelloit 
fa  Mere.  C'eft  elle,  difoit-il,  qui  m'a  port6  deffus 
fes  bras,  dans  toute  ma  ieuneffe,  &  qui  m'a  mis  dans 
la  Compagnie  de  fon  Fils.  II  auoit  fait  vn  voeu  de 
foultenir  iufqu'k  la  mort,  fon  Immacul^e  Conception. 
II  eft  mort  k  la  veille  de  cette  augufte  Fefte,  pour 
aller  la  folemnifer  plus  auguftement  dans  le  Ciel. 

D6s  fon  Nouitiat,  il  paroifToit  vn  Ange :  fa  modeftie 
eftant  fi  rare,  qu'on  le  propofoit  k  tons  les  autres, 
comme  vn  miroir  de  faindtet^.  II  auoit  eu  de  tres- 
grandes  difiicultez  k  obtenii  permiffion  de  fon  pere, 


\L   I 


i'Ji 


1 


1650] 


RELA  TION  OF  1649-^0 


\\9 


the  day  a  profound  silence, —  seated,  after  the  man- 
ner of  savages,  upon  the  ground,  without  lifting 
their  eyes,  or  uttering  even  a  sigh, —  like  marble 
statues,  without  speech,  without  sight,  and  without 
motion.  For  it  is  thus  that  the  Savages  mourn, —  at 
least,  the  men  and  the  warriors, —  tears,  cries,  and 
lamentations  befitting,  so  tney  say,  the  women. 

The  loss  of  the  Pastor  and  of  his  flock  has  been  to 
us  a  heavy  blow;  but  in  both  it  becomes  us  to  love 
and  adore  the  Divine  hand  that  guides  us  and  is  over 
our  Churches,  and  to  dispose  ourselves  to  accept  all 
that  he  wills,  until  the  end. 

Father  Charles  Gamier  was  born  in  Paris,  in  the 
year  1605,  and  entered  our  Society  in  1624;  he  was 
thus  but  little  over  44  years  of  age  on  the  7th  of 
December,  1649, —  the  day  on  which  he  died  in 
labors  which  were  truly  Apostolic,  and  in  which  he 
had  lived  since  the  year  1636,  when  he  left  France 
and  went  up  to  the  country  of  the  Hurons. 

[35]  From  his  infancy,  he  entertained  the  most 
tender  sentiments  of  piety,  and,  in  particular,  a  filial 
love  toward  the  most  holy  Virgin,  whom  he  called 
his  Mother.  "It  it  she,"  he  would  say,  "  who  has 
carried  me  in  her  arms  through  all  my  youth,  and 
has  placed  me  in  the  Society  of  her  Son,"  He  had 
made  a  vow  to  uphold,  until  death,  her  Immaculate 
Conception.  He  died  on  the  eve  of  that  august 
Festival,  that  he  might  go  to  solemnize  it  yet  more 
gloriously  in  Heaven. 

From  the  time  of  his  Novitiate,  he  seemed  an 
Angel,  his  humility  being  so  uncommon  that  he  was 
held  before  all  others  as  a  mirror  of  sanctity.  He 
had  experienced  the  greatest  difficulties  in  obtaining 
permission  from  his  father  to  enter  our  Society ;  but 


-'  'A 


,J) 


120 


LES  RELA  TIONS  DES  /^SUITES         [Vol.  85 


m 


1 


t 

) 

i  1  ^ 

1' 

Ik. 

S,i 

pour  entrer  en  noftre  Compagnie :  mais  elles  f urent 
bien  plus  grandes,  lors  que  dix  ans  apr^s  cette  pre- 
miere reparation,  il  fallut  luy  en  faire  agreer  vne 
feconde  plus  fenfible,  qui  eftoit  fon  depart  de  la 
France,  pour  venir  en  ces  Millions  du  bout  du  monde : 
Nos  Superieurs  ayans  defir^  que  fon  Pere  y  donnafl 
fon  confentement,  h  caufe  des  obligations  particu- 
lieres,  que  luy  auoit  noftre  Compagnie.  Son  voyage 
en  fut  retard^  [36]  vne  annde  toute  entiere :  mais  ce 
ne  fut  que  pour  enflammer  fes  defirs.  lour  &  nuidt, 
il  ne  fongeoit  qu'k  la  conuerfion  des  Sauuages,  &  k 
y  confommer  fa  vie,  iufqu'au  dernier  foufpir  II  plut 
k  Dieu  d^slors  de  luy  donner  des  preffentimens  de 
la  mort  qui  luy  eft  arriuee ;  mais  fi  puifTans,  fi  doux, 
&  fi  aimables,  que  ie  puis  dire  que  d^slors  il  eftoit 
mort  vrayement  au  monde,  &  que  le  monde  luy  eftoit 
comme  vn  cadavre  mort,  pour  lequel  on  n'a  plus  que 
de  I'horreur  &  du  d^gouft.  II  fut  done  vn  an  tout 
entier  pour  combattre  tous  les  efforts  de  la  nature, 
en  fon  bon  pere,  qui  ne  pouuoit  entendre  h  vne  11 
dure  feparation.  II  y  employa,  &  amis,  &  larmes,  & 
prieres,  &  des  mortifications  continuelles.  Enfin  il 
obtint  ce  grand  coup  du  Ciel,  auec  tant  de  ioye  de 
fon  coeur,  qu'il  eftimoit  cette  iournee  la  plus  heureufe 
qu'il  euft  eue  toute  fa  vie. 

Paffant  la  mer,  il  fit  dans  le  nauire  des  conuerHons 
notables.  Entr'autres  il  fut  aduerty,  qu'il  y  auoit 
parmy  les  matelots,  vn  homme  fans  confcience,  fans 
Religion,  &  fans  Dieu,  qui  fuyoit  tout  le  monde,  & 
que  tout  le  monde  fuyoit.  [37]  II  y  auoit  plus  de 
dix  ans  qu'il  ne  s'eftoit  confefs6.  Le  Pere  port6  de 
fon  zele  ordinaire,  entreprit  cette  humeur  noire,  & 
c^t  homme  defefper6,  &  apres  mille  tefmoignages  de 


1 


1650] 


RELA  TION  OF  1649-50 


121 


these  were  very  much  enhanced  when,  ten  years 
after  that  first  separation,  it  became  necessary  to 
reconcile  the  father  to  a  second,  of  a  still  more  pain- 
ful kind.  This  was  his  departure  from  /ranee,  to 
go  into  these  Missions  at  the  end  of  the  world, —  our 
Superiors  having  expressed  their  wish  that  his 
Father  should  yield  consent  to  this,  on  account  of 
peculiar  obligations  which  our  Society  was  under  to 
him.  His  voyage  was  thus  delayed,  [36]  an  entire 
year;  but  this  only  served  to  fan  the  flame  of  his 
desires.  Day  and  night  he  thought  only  of  the  con- 
version of  the  Savages,  and  of  devoting  to  them  his 
life,  to  its  latest  breath.  It  pleased  God,  from  that 
time,  to  visit  him  with  presentiments  of  the  death 
which  has  befallen  him, — but  presentiments  so  inspir- 
ing, so  peaceful,  so  delightful,  that  I  can  say  that 
thenceforward  he  was  dead  to  the  world,  and  the 
world  was  to  him  as  some  lifeless  carcass,  for  which 
one  feels  only  horror  and  disgust.  It  required,  then, 
a  whole  year  to  contend  with  all  the  struggles  of 
nature  in  the  mind  of  his  good  father,  who  could  not 
hear  of  so  cruel  a  separation.  He  employed  therein 
friends,  tears,  prayers,  and  continual  mortifications. 
At  length,  he  succeeded  in  obtaining  this  great  boon 
from  Heaven,  and  with  so  much  joy  in  his  heart, 
that  he  looked  upon  that  day  as  the  happiest  of  his 
entire  life. 

While  crossing  the  sea,  he  made  some  remarkable 
conversions  on  shipboard.  Among  others,  he  was 
informed  that  belonging  to  the  crew  was  a  man  with- 
out conscience,  without  Religion,  and  without  God. 
This  man  avoided  every  one,  and  all  avoided  him; 
[37]  it  was  over  ten  years  since  he  had  confessed. 
The  Father,  carried  away  by  his  usual  zeal,  took  in 


il 


'  _»i 


j» 


I  III 


mmmmam 


VH  > 


122 


LES  RELATIONS  DES  J&SUITES         [Vol.  85 


i 


ff 


\ 


% 


\ 


charity,  qu'il  luy  rendit,  par  toute  forte  de  foins, 
d'inftrudlions,  &  de  bons  offices,  enfin  il  le  gagna,  & 
luy  fit  faire  vne  confeffion  generale,  &  il  le  mit  dans 
vne  fi  grande  paix,  &  ioye  de  confcience,  que  tout  le 
monde  en  fut  eItonn6  &  touch^. 

D6s  qu'il  fut  arriu6  aux  Hurons,  on  eut  en  fa  per- 
fonne  vn  ouurier  infatigable,  remply  de  tous  les  dons 
de  la  Nature  &  de  la  Grace,  qui  peuuent  rendre  vn 
Miffionaire  accomply.  II  poffeda  la  langue  des  Sau- 
uages  en  vn  degr6  fi  eminent,  qu'ils  I'admiroient 
eux-mefmes.  II  entroit  fi  auant  dans  les  coeurs,  & 
auec  vne  eloquence  fi  puilTante,  qu'il  les  rauifl^oit 
tous  k  foy:  fon  vifage,  fes  yeux,  fon  ris  mefme,  & 
tous  les  geftes  de  fon  corps  ne  prefchoient  que  la 
faindtetd.  Mais  fon  coeur  parloit  plus  haut  que  fes 
paroles,  &  fe  faifoit  entendre  mefme  dans  fon  filence : 
Ten  fgay  plufieurs  qui  fe  font  conuertis  "k  Dieu,  aux 
feuls  regars  de  fon  vifage,  qui  efloient  vrayement 
[38]  Angeliques,  &  qui  donnoient  de  la  deuotion,  & 
des  impreffions  de  Chaftet6  k  ceux  qui  I'abordoient, 
foit  qu'il  fut  en  prieres,  foit  qu'il  parut  rentrer  en 
foy,  fe  recueillant  de  I'adlion  d'auec  le  prochain;  foit 
qu'il  parlafl  de  Dieu,  foit  mefme  lors  que  la  Charity 
I'engageoit  dans  d'autres  entreties,  qui  donoient 
quelque  relafche  k  fon  efprit.  L 'amour  de  Dieu  qui 
regnoit  en  fon  coeur,  animoit  tous  fes  mouuemens,  & 
les  rendoit  diuins. 

Ses  vertus  eftoient  heroi'ques,  &  il  ne  luy  en  man- 
quoit  pas  vne  de  celles  qui  font  les  plus  grads  Saints. 
Vne  Obeifsace  accomplie  capable  de  tout  faire,  & 
prefte  k  ne  rien  faire,  fi  fon  Superieur  ne  vouloit. 
Vne  Humility  fi  profonde,  que  quoy  que  tout  fut 
eminent  en  luy,  non  feulement  il  s'eftimoit  le  plus 


1680] 


RELA  TION  OF  i64g-so 


12S 


l6 

mt 

ui 

& 


& 
oit. 
fut 


hand  that  gloomy  temper  and  that  hopeleSvS  man ; 
and,  after  a  thousand  evidences  of  love, —  exhibited 
in  all  manner  of  attentions,  instructions,  and  good 
offices, —  succeeded  at  last  in  winning  him.  He 
induced  this  man  to  make  a  general  confession,  and 
brought  him  into  so  great  a  peace,  and  joy  of  con- 
science, that  all  wondered,  and  were  touched  by  it. 

As  soon  as  he  came  among  the  Hurons,  we  had  in 
him  an  indefatigable  worker,  replete  with  every  gift 
of  Nature  and  of  Grace  that  could  make  an  accom- 
plished Missionary.  He  had  mastered  the  language 
of  the  Savages  so  thoroughly  that  they  themselves 
were  astonished  at  him.  He  worked  his  way  so  far 
into  their  hearts,  and  with  such  a  power  of  eloquence, 
as  to  carry  them  away  with  him.  His  face,  his 
eyes, —  even  his  laugh,  and  every  movement  of  his 
body, —  preached  sanctity.  His  heart  spoke  yet 
louder  than  his  words  and  made  itself  heard,  even  in 
his  silence.  I  know  of  several  who  were  converted 
to  God  by  the  mere  aspect  of  his  countenance,  which 
was  truly  [38]  Angelic,  and  which  imparted  a  spirit 
of  devotion,  and  Chaste  impressions,  to  those  ap- 
proaching him, —  whether  he  were  at  prayer,  or 
seemed  to  be  communing  with  himself,  collecting  his 
thoughts,  after  some  activity  in  behalf  of  his  neigh- 
bor; or  whether  he  spoke  of  God;  or  it  might  be, 
even,  when  Charity  had  engaged  him  in  discourse  of 
a  different  character,  which  afforded  some  relaxation 
to  his  mind.  The  love  of  God  which  reigned  in  his 
heart  gave  life  to  all  his  movements,  and  made  them 
heavenly. 

His  virtues  were  heroic,  nor  was  there  lacking  in 
him  one  of  those  which  go  to  make  up  the  gieatest 
Saints.    A  perfect  Obedience,  capable  of  doing  every- 


ill 


.i?i 


124 


LES  RELA  TIONS  DES  /^SUITES         [Vol.  86 


■t( 


indigne  de  cette  Miflion,  mais  il  croyoit  que  Dieu  le 
punifToit  terriblement  de  fes  infidelitez,  lors  qu'il 
voyoit  quelqu'vn  auoir  quelque  opinion  de  luy.  Ce 
luy  eftoit  vn  des  tourmens  des  plus  fenfibles  qui  put 
luy  arriuer.  Et  ie  f9ay  que  fouuent  en  ces  rencon- 
tres, pour  donner  h  ces  mefmes  perfonnes  de  bas 
fentimens  de  foy-mefme,  il  leur  defcouuroit  fes 
d^fauts,  &  ce  [39]  qui  luy  donnoit  plus  d  horreur  de 
foy-mefme,  croyant  qu'en  fuite  on  le  deult  auoir  en 
horreur. 

Son  oraifon  efloit  fi  refpedtueufe  en  la  prefence  de 
Dieu,  &  fi  paifible  dans  le  filence  de  toutes  fes  puif- 
fances,  qu'^  peine  foufifroit-iJ  la  moindre  diftradlion, 
quoy  qu'au  milieu  des  employs  les  plus  diflipans. 
Ce  n'eftoient  que  coUoques,  qu'affedlions  &  qu'amour, 
d6s  le  commencement  de  I'Oraifon;  &  ce  feu  s'alloit 
allumant  toufiours  iufqu'k  la  fin. 

Sa  mortification  eftoit  6gale  k  fon  amour:  il  la 
cherchoit  &  nuidt  &  iour,  toufiours  couch^  defTus  la 
dure,  &  portant  toufiours  fur  fon  corps  quelque  partie 
de  la  Croix,  qu'il  cherifl!oit  durant  fa  vie,  &  fur 
laquelle  il  defiroit  mourir.  Chaque  fois  qu'il  retour- 
noit  de  fes  Miflions,  il  ne  manquoit  iamais  de  faire 
racerer  les  pointes  de  fer,  d'vne  ceinture  toute  herif- 
s6e  de  rnoletes  d'efperon,  qu'il  portoit  fur  la  chair 
nu6 :  &  outre  cela,  tres-fouuent  il  vfoit  d'vne  difci- 
pline  de  fer,  arm6e  aufli  de  pointes  tres-aigues.  Son 
viure  n'eftoit  autre  que  celuy  des  Sauuages,  c'eft  k 
dire,  le  moindre  qu'vn  miferable  gueux  peut  efperer 
en  France.  [40]  Cette  derniere  ann6e  de  famine,  le 
gland  &  les  racines  ameres  luy  eftoient  des  delices : 
non  pas  qu'il  n'en  fentit  les  amertumes,  mais  il  les 
fauouroit  auec  amour :  quoy  que  toufiours  il  euft  eft6 


i^ 


\^ 


1660] 


/iULA  TION  OF  tb^g-so 


126 


le 


thing,  and  prepared  to  do  nothing,  if  so  his  Superior 
willed  it.  A  Humility  so  profound  that,  although 
eminent  in  every  respect,  not  only  did  he  regard  him- 
self as  the  most  unworthy  in  this  Mission,  but  it  was 
his  conviction  that  God  was  terribly  punishing  his 
unfaithfulness,  when  he  perceived  that  any  one 
thought  highly  of  him.  That,  to  him,  was  one  of 
the  keenest  sufferings  that  could  befall  him ;  and  I 
know  that  oftentimes,  on  such  occasions,  that  he  might 
give  to  these  same  persons  a  low  opinion  of  him,  he 
made  known  to  them  his  failings,  and  [39]  whatever 
would  produce  in  him  a  greater  loathing  of  him- 
self,—  believing  that,  in  consequence,  he  would  be 
held  in  abhorrence. 

His  prayers  were  so  full  of  reverence  for  the  pres- 
ence of  God,  and  so  peaceful  in  the  hush  of  all  his 
own  powers,  that  he  scarcely  seemed  to  suffer  the 
least  distraction,  though  engage'  in  occupations 
most  apt  to  dissipate  his  thought.-  His  Prayers, 
from  the  outset,  were  but  a  series  -olloquies,  de- 
vout emotions,  and  acts  of  love ;  and  this  ardor  grew 
even  more  intense  until  the  close. 

His  mortification  was  equal  to  his  love.  He  sought 
it  night  and  day:  always  lay  on  the  bare  ground, 
and  bore  constantly  upon  his  body  some  portion  of 
that  Cross  which  during  life  he  held  most  dear,  and 
on  which  it  was  his  desire  to  die.  Every  time  that 
he  returned  from  his  Mission  rounds,  he  never  failed 
to  sharpen  freshly  the  iron  points  of  a  girdle  all 
covered  with  spur-rowels,  which  he  wore  next  to  his 
skin.  In  addition  to  this,  he  would  very  often  use 
a  discipline  of  wire,  armed,  besides,  with  sharpened 
poi^  -s.  His  daily  fare  differed  in  no  way  from  that 
of  the  Savages, —  that  is  to  say,  it  was  the  scantiest 


li) 


'II 


111 


>i 


126  LES  RELATIONS  DES  JASUITES         [Vol.35 

vn  enfant  chery  &  d'vne  maifon  riche  &  noble,  & 
tons  les  amours  de  fon  Pere;  efleu6  d^s  le  berceau  en 
d'autres  nourritures  qu'en  celles  des  Pourceaux.  Mais 
tant  s'en  faut  qu'il  s'eftimall  miferable  dans  ce  grand 
abandon  de  toutes  chofes,  ou  il  eftoit;  &  qu'il  euft 
voulu  dire,  ce  que  difoit  I'enfant  Prodigue,  Quanti 
mercenarij  in  donio  Patris  mei  abundant  panibus\  ego 
autevi  hie  fame  pereo\  qu'au  contraire  il  s'eftimoit 
heureux  de  tout  fouffrir  pour  Diea. 

Dans  les  dernieres  lettres,  qu'il  m'efcriuit  trois 
iours  auant  fa  mort ;  pom*  refponfe  k  vne  demande 
que  ie  luy  faifois  touchant  I'eflat  de  fa  fante,  &  s'il 
n'efloit  point  k  propos  qu'il  quittaft  pour  qiielque 
temps  fa  Miffion,  afin  de  venir  nous  reuoir  k  reparer 
vn  peu  fes  forces :  II  me  ref pondit  tres  au  long  quan- 
tity de  raifons,  qui  I'obligeoient  de  demeurer  en  fa 
MilTion ;  mais  raifons  qui  ne  prenoient  leur  force  que 
de  I'efprit  de  charity,  &  du  [41]  zele  vrayement 
Apoftolique  dont  il  eftoit  remply.  II  eft  vray,  m'ad- 
iouftoit-il,  que  ie  fouffre  quelque  chofe  du  coft^  de 
la  faim:  mais  ce  n'eft  pas  iufqu'k  la  mort;  &  Dieu 
mercy,  mon  corps  &  mon  efprit,  fe  fouftiennent  dans 
leur  vigueur.  Ce  n'eft  pas  de  ce  coft6  Ik  que  ie 
crains;  mais  ce  que  ie  craindrois  dauantage,  feroit 
qu'en  quittant  mon  troupeau  en  ces  temps  de  miferes, 
&  dans  ces  frayeurs  de  la  guerre,  qu'il  a  befoin  de 
moy,  plus  que  iamais ;  ie  ne  manquafle  aux  occafions 
que  Dieu  me  don^ie,  de  me  perdre  pour  luy ;  &  qu'en 
fuite,  ie  ne  me  rendifle  indigne  de  fes  faueurs.  Ie 
n'ay  que  trop  de  foin  de  moy-mefme,  adiouftoit-il ;  & 
fi  ie  voyois  que  les  forces  fuffent  pour  me  manquer, 
puifque  voftre  Reuerence  me  le  commande,  ie  ne 
manquerois  pas  de  partir,-  car  ie  fuis  tousjours  prefl 


%\ 


\ 


1660] 


RELA  TION  OF  1649-50 


127 


de 
ons 
'en 
le 
& 
uer, 
ne 
jrefl 


that  a  miserable  beggar  would  expect  in  France. 
[40]  During  that  last  year  of  famine,  acorns  and 
bitter  roots  were,  to  him,  delicacies, — not  that  he  was 
insensible  to  their  bitternesG,  but  that  love  gave  a 
relish  to  them.  And  yet  he  had  ever  been  the  cher- 
ished child  of  a  rich  and  noble  house,  and  the  object 
of  all  a  Father's  endearments, — brought  up,  from  the 
cradle,  on  other  foods  than  those  of  Swine.  But  so 
far  was  he  from  regarding  himself  as  wretched  in 
this  great  surrender  of  everything,  where  he  was; 
or  from  wishing  to  say,  in  the  words  of  the  Prodigal 
son,  Qiianti  mcrccnarii  in  donio  Patris  met  abmidant 
panibus,  ego  aiitcm  hie  fame  pereo,  that,  on  the  contrary, 
he  esteemed  himself  happy  in  suffering  all  things 
for  God. 

In  his  latest  letters,  addressed  to  me  three  days 
before  his  death,  in  response  to  a  request  which  I 
made  to  him  touching  the  state  of  his  health, —  ask- 
ing if  it  would  not  be  right  that  he  should  quit  for  a 
time  his  Mission,  in  order  to  come  once  more  to  see 
us,  and  recruit  a  little  his  strength, — he  answered 
me  by  urging,  at  great  length,  many  reasons  which 
disposed  him  to  remain  in  his  Mission,  but  reasons 
which  gathered  their  force  only  from  the  spirit  of 
charity  and  [41]  truly  Apostolic  zeal  with  which  he 
was  filled.  "  It  is  true,"  he  added,  "that  I  suffer 
something  in  regard  to  hunger,  but  that  is  not  to 
death ;  and,  thank  God,  my  body  and  my  spirit  keep 
up  in  all  their  vigor.  I  am  not  alarmed  on  that  side ; 
but  what  I  should  fear  more  would  be  that,  in  leav- 
ing my  flock  in  the  time  of  their  calamities,  and  in 
the  terrors  of  war, —  in  a  time  when  they  need  me 
more  than  ever, —  I  would  fail  to  use  the  opportuni- 
ties which  God  gives  me  of  losing  myself  for  him, 


i:! 


1  ] 


128 


LES  RELATIONS  DES  jtSUITES         [Vol.  3& 


I 


de  tout  quitter,  pour  mourir  dans  robeiffance,  oh 
Dieu  me  veut :  fans  cela,  ie  ne  defcendray  iamais  de 
la  Croix  ou  fa  bont6  m'a  mis. 

Ces  grands  defirs  de  fainc5tet6  auoient  creu  auec 
luy  d6s  fon  bas  age.  Pour  moy,  I'ayant  connu  depuis 
plus  de  douze  ans,  qu'il  refpandoit  deuant  moy  tout 
[42]  fon  coeur,  comme  il  faifoit  deuant  Dieu  m>.fme; 
ie  puis  dire  auec  verit6,  qu'en  toutes  ces  ann^es,  ie 
ne  croy  pas  que  hors  Ie  fommeil,  il  ayt  e{l6  vne  feule 
heure,  fans  ces  defirs  ardens  &  vehemes  de  s'auancer 
de  plus  en  plus,  dedans  les  voyes  de  Dieu,  &  d'y 
auancer  fon  prochain.  Hors  de  cela,  rien  au  monde 
ne  Ie  touchoit;  ny  parens,  ny  amis,  ny  repos,  ny 
confolation  ny  peines,  ny  fatigues.  Son  tout  elloit 
en  Dieu,  &  hors  de  luy,  tout  ne  luy  eftoit  rien. 

II  prenoit  des  malades,  &  les  portoit  fur  fes  efpau- 
les,  vne  &  deux  lieues,  pour  leur  gagner  Ie  coeur,  & 
pour  auoir  occafion  de  les  baptizer.  II  faifoit  les  dix 
&  les  vingt  lieues,  durant  les  chaleurs  de  I'Eft^  les 
plus  exceffiues,  &  par  des  chemins  dangereux,  oti 
fans  ceffe  les  ennemis  faifoient  quelques  malTacres. 
II  couroit  hors  d'halene  apres  vn  feul  Sauuage,  qui 
luy  feruoit  de  guide,  pour  aller  baptizer,  ou  quelque 
moribond,  ou  quelque  captif  de  guerre,  qu'on  deuoit 
brufler  Ie  iour  mefme.  II  a  pafs6  des  nuidt,"  entieres 
dans  des  efgaremens  &  des  chemins  perdus,  a  1  milieu 
des  neges  profondes,  &  des  plus  grands  fro'ds  de 
[43]  I'Hyuer,  fans  que  fon  zele  full  arreft^  "  iucune 
faifon  de  I'ann^e. 

Durant  les  maladies  cont-'gieufes,  qu'on  nous 
fermoit  par  tout  les  portes  des  cabanes,  &  qu'on  ne 
parloit  d'autre  chofe  que  de  nous  maffacrer,  non 
feulement  il  marchoit  tefte  baifs^e,  ou  il  f9auoit  qu'il 


i;p 


1650J 


RELA  TION  OF  1649 -so 


129 


and  so  render  myself  unworthy  of  his  favors.  I  take 
only  too  much  care  of  myself,"  added  he;  "  and  if  I 
saw  that  my  powers  were  failing  me,  I  should  not 
fail,  since  your  Reverence  bids  me,  to  come  to  you ; 
for  I  am  at  all  times  ready  to  leave  everything,  to 
die,  in  the  spirit  of  obedience,  where  God  wills;  but 
otherwise,  I  will  never  come  down  from  the  Cross 
on  which  his  goodness  has  placed  me." 

These  great  aspirations  after  sanctity  had  grown 
with  him  from  his  infancy.  For  myself,  having 
known  him  for  more  than  twelve  years, —  in  which 
he  opened  to  me  all  [42]  his  heart,  as  he  did  to  God 
himself, —  I  can  truly  say  that,  in  all  those  years,  I 
do  not  think  that,  save  in  sleep,  he  has  spent  a  single 
hour  without  these  burning  and  vehement  desires  of 
progressing  more  and  more  in  the  ways  of  God,  and 
of  helping  forward  in  them  his  fellow-creatures. 
Outside  of  these  considerations,  nothing  in  the  world 
affected  him, —  neither  relatives,  nor  friends,  nor 
rest,  nor  consolation,  nor  hardships,  nor  fatigues. 
God  was  his  all ;  and,  apart  from  him,  all  else  was  to 
him  as  nothing. 

He  took  some  sick  people,  and  carried  them  on  his 
shoulders  for  one  or  two  leagues,  in  order  to  gain 
their  hearts,  and  to  secure  the  opportunity  to  baptize 
them.  He  accomplished  some  ten  or  twenty  leagues 
during  the  most  excessive  heat  of  Summer,  along 
dangerous  roads,  where  the  enemy  was  continually 
perpetrating  massacres.  All  breathless,  he  would 
hurry  after  a  single  Savage,  who  served  him  as  guide, 
that  he  might  baptize  some  dying  man,  or  a  captive 
of  war  who  was  to  be  burnt  that  same  day.  He  has 
passed  whole  nights  in  groping  after  a  lost  path, 
amid  the  deep  snows  and  the  most  biting  cold  of  [43] 


II 


ill 


'4    -^ 


'  i 


180 


LES  RELA  TIONS  DBS  Jl^SUITES         [Vol.  35 


y  euft  vne  feule  ame  h  gagner  pour  le  Paradis ;  mais 
par  vn  excez  de  ce  zele,  &  vne  induftrie  de  Chr.,rit6, 
il  trouuoit  les  moyens  de  s'ouurir  tous  les  chemins 
qu'on  luy  fermoit,  de  rompre  tous  les  obftacles; 
quelquesfois  auec  violence.  Mais  ce  qui  eftoit  de 
plus  diuin,  en  tout  ce  proced^,  qui  n'auoit  rien  de  la 
prudence  humaine/  c'efi;  que  d6s  fon  entr6e,  il 
gagnoit  les  efprits  farouches,  d'vne  feule  parole,  & 
qu'il  venoit  h  bout  de  fon  deffein.  Rien  ne  le  rebu- 
toit,  &  toufiours  il  efperoit  en  bien,  des  ames  les  plus 
defefper^es. 

II  auoit  vn  recours  particulier  aux  Anges,  &  en 
reffentoit  des  fecours  tres-puiffans.  Des  Sauuages, 
qu'il  alloit  affifter  h.  I'heure  de  la  mort,  I'ont  veu 
accompagn^  d'vn  ieune  homme,  difoient-ils,  d'vne 
rare  beauts,  &  d'vn  efclat  maieftueux,  qui  fe  tenoit  k 
fon  coft^,  &  qui  [44]  les  animoit  k  obei'r  aux  inftru- 
dtions  du  Pere.  Ces  bonnes  gens  n'en  pouuoient 
dire  dauantage,  &  demandoient  quel  eftoit  ce  com- 
pagnon,  qui  rauiffoit  ainfi  leur  coeur.  lis  ne  fgauoient 
pas  que  les  Anges  font  plus  que  nous  dans  la  conuer- 
fion  des  Pecheurs,  quoy  que  pour  I'ordinaire  leur 
operation  ne  foit  pas  fi  vifible. 

Son  inclination  la  plus  grande,  efloit  h  alTifter  les 
plus  abandonnez :  &  quelque  humeur  rebutante  que 
put  auoir  quelqu'vn,  H  chetif  &  impertinent  qu'il  put 
eftre/  il  fentoit  efgalement  pour  tous  des  entrailles 
de  Mere;  n'obmettant  mefme  aucun  adle  de  Miferi- 
corde  corporelle,  qu'il  put  j^>ratiquer,  pour  le  falut 
des  anies  On  I'a  veu  panfer  des  vlceres  fi  puants,  & 
qui  rendoient  vne  telle  infec5tion,  que  les  Sauuages,  & 
mefme  les  parens  plus  proches  des  malades,  ne  les 
pouuoient  fouffrir.     Luy  feul  y  mettoit  la  main  tous 


;/        P 


;  i 


1650] 


RELA  TION  OF  164c)- 50 


ISl 


Winter, — his  zeal  knowing  no  obstacle  at  any  season 
of  the  year. 

During  the  prevalence  of  contagious  diseases, — 
when  they  shut  on  us  everywhere  the  doors  of  the 
cabins,  and  talked  of  nothing  but  of  massacring  us, — 
not  only  did  he  go  unswt.  vingly  where  he  felt  there 
was  a  soul  to  gain  for  Paradise ;  but,  by  an  excess  of 
zeal,  and  an  ingenuity  born  of  Charity,  he  found 
means  of  opening  all  the  ways  that  had  been  closed 
against  him,  and  of  breaking  down,  sometimes  forci- 
bly, all  that  opposed  his  progress.  But  that  which 
imparted  a  more  heavenly  aspect  to  every  such  proce- 
dure, and  did  not  result  from  human  sagacity,  was 
this,  that,  from  the  moment  of  his  entry,  he  won 
over  fierce  spirits  by  a  single  word,  and  accomplished 
all  that  he  had  set  himself  to  do.  Nothing  repelled 
him ;  and  he  always  looked  for  good,  even  from  souls 
the  most  hopeless. 

He  had  a  way  of  recourse  to  the  Angels,  all  his 
own,  and  experienced  their  most  powerful  assistance. 
The  Savages,  to  whose  aid  he  went  at  the  hour  of 
death,  have  seen  him  accompanied,  as  they  said,  by 
a  young  man  of  rare  beauty  and  majestic  glory,  who 
remained  at  his  side,  and  [44]  urged  them  to  obey 
the  instructions  of  the  Father.  These  good  people 
could  tell  no  more,  and  inquired  who  was  this  com- 
panion who  had  so  stolen  away  their  hearts.  They 
knew  not  that  the  Angels  do  more  than  we  in  the 
conversion  of  Sinners,  although  ordinarily,  their 
operation  is  not  so  evident. 

His  strongest  inclination  was  to  aid  the  most 
depraved,  however  repulsive  the  disposition  that  any 
one  might  possess,  however  vile  and  insolent  he 
might  be.     He  felt  for  all  alike,  with  the  bowels  of  a 


' 


:! 


V 


132 


LES  RELATIONS  DES  J&SUITES         [Vol.36 


1/ 


\ 


les  iours,  en  efluyoit  le  pus,  &  nettoyoit  la  playe, 
deux  &  trois  mois  de  fuite,  auec  vn  oeil  &  vn  vifage 
qui  ne  refpiroit  que  charit6:  quoy  que  fouuent  il 
vifl  tres-bien  que  ces  playes  eftoient  incurables. 
Mais,  difoit-il,  plus  elles  [45]  font  mortelles,  plus 
i'ay  de  pente  k  en  prendre  le  foin;  afin  de  conduire 
ces  pauures  gens  iufqu'k  la  porte  du  Paradis,  &  afin 
d'empefcher  leur  cheute  dans  le  pech^,  en  vn  temps, 
qui  eft  pour  eux,  le  plus  perilleux  de  la  vie. 

II  n'y  auoit  dans  tout  le  pais  des  Hurons,  aucune 
MilTion  oti  il  n'euft  efte,  &  il  en  auoit  commence  plu- 
fieurs,  nommement  celle  ou  il  eft  mort.  II  agilToit 
auec  les  Sauuages,  dans  vne  grande  Prudence,  &  auec 
vne  douceur  de  Charit6,  qui  f9auoit  tout  excufer,  & 
tout  fupporter,  quoy  qu'elle  n'euft  rien  de  lafche. 

II  n' auoit  aucune  attache  "k  fon  trauail;  ny  aux 
perfonnes,  ny  aux  lieux,  ny  aux  employs.  Mais 
enuifageant  la  volont^  de  Dieu  efgalement  en  toutes 
chofes;  en  quelque  lieu  qu'il  fuft  quelque  occupation 
que  TobeilTance  luy  ordonnaft;  des  ce  mefme  mo- 
ment, il  s'y  portoit  auec  courage,  auec  cooftance,  & 
comme  vn  homme  qui  n' auoit  plus  d'autres  penfees 
au  monde,  finon  de  trouuer  Dieu,  ou  on  vouloit 
qu'alors  il  le  cherchaft.  Souuent  on  luy  a  fait  quit- 
ter le  foin  des  Miffions,  ou  eftoit  tout  fon  coeur;  pour 
labourer  la  terre,  pour  feruir  d'vn  homme  de  [46] 
voiture,  &  traifner  fur  les  neiges,  comme  vn  cheual 
^  la  charue ;  pour  prendre  le  foin  des  malades,  pour 
auoir  foin  de  la  cuifine,  pour  aller  chercher  ck  &  1^ 
dans  les  bois,  quelques  raifins  fauuages;  &  faire  les 
dix  &  douze  lieues  pour  en  trouuer  fa  charge,  &  pour 
en  retirer  apres  de  longs  trauaux,  k  peine  ce  qu'il 
faut  de  vin,  pour  celebrer  quelques  Meffes  le  refte 


I   \ 


Tit 

4' 


'  •! 


It 


1650] 


RELA  T/ON  OF  1649-30 


133 


Mother, —  not  omitting  any  act  of  corporal  Mercy 
which  he  could  perform  for  the  salvation  of  souls. 
He  has  been  seen  to  dress  ulcers  so  loathsome,  and 
which  emitted  a  stench  so  offensive,  that  the  Sav- 
ages, and  even  the  nearest  relatives  of  the  sick  man, 
were  unable  to  endure  them.  He  alone  would 
handle  these,  wiping  off  the  pus  and  cleansing  the 
wound,  every  day,  for  two  and  three  months  together, 
with  an  eye  and  a  countenance  that  betokened  only 
charity, —  though  he  often  saw  very  clearly  that  the 
wounds  were  incurable.  "  But,"  said  he,  "  the  more 
[45]  deadly  they  are,  the  stronger  inclination  have  I 
to  undertake  the  care  of  them, — that  I  may  lead 
these  poor  people  even  to  the  gate  of  Paradise,  and 
keep  them  from  falling  into  sin  at  a  time  which  is 
for  them  the  most  perilous  in  life." 

Not  one  Mission  was  there  in  the  whole  territory 
of  the  Hurons  in  which  he  had  not  been ;  and  several 
of  them  he  had  himself  originated, —  that,  in  particu- 
lar, in  which  he  died.  Toward  the  Savages  he 
conducted  himself  with  a  remarkable  Prudence,  and 
with  a  sweetness  of  Charity  that  could  excuse  all, 
and  bear  with  all,  though  having  in  it  nothing  that 
was  mean-spirited. 

He  tied  himself  neither  to  his  work  nor  to  persons, 
to  places  nor  employments ;  but,  regarding  equally 
in  everything  the  will  of  God,  wherever  he  might 
be ;  whatever  occupation  obedience  might  appoint  to 
him,  from  that  very  moment  he  betook  himself  to  it 
with  courage  and  constancy,  and  as  a  man  who  had 
no  other  thought  in  the  world  save  that  of  finding 
God  where,  at  the  time,  it  was  willed  that  he  should 
seek  him.  Often  was  he  called  upon  to  leave  the 
care  of  Missions,  where  his  whole  heart  lay,  to  till 


I  i 


1 


lit  '{ 


I 


I 


I 


134 


LES  RELA  TIONS  DES  J/i SUITES        [Vol.  36 


h 


\ 


de  I'ann^e.  Par  tout  il  eftoit  ^gal  k  foy-mefme,  &  ^ 
le  voir,  on  eufl  iug6  qu'il  n'auoit  point  d 'inclination, 
finon  pour  ce  qu'on  luy  voyoit  faire,  &  que  c' eftoit  1^ 
le  vray  employ,  oh.  il  fut  appell6  de  Dieu.  On  ne 
fera  rien,  difoit-il,  pour  le  falut  des  ames,  fi  Dieu  ne 
fe  met  de  la  partie  auec  nous :  quand  c'eft  luy  qui 
nous  y  applique,  par  la  conduite  de  robeiflance,  il 
eft  oblig6  de  nous  y  affifter,  &  auec  luy  nous  y  ferons 
ce  qu'il  attend  de  nous.  Mais  quand  c'eft  que  nous 
cheriffons  vn  employ,  fu.t-il  le  plus  faindl  de  la  terre, 
Dieu  n'eft  pas  oblig^  d'eftre  de  la  partie:  il  nous 
laiffe  k  nous-mefmes,  &  de  nous-mefmes  que  pou- 
uons-nous  flnon  vn  rien,  ou  le  pech^  qui  nous  met 
au  deffous  du  rien? 

II  n' eftoit  pas  tellement  attach^  k  la  [47]  conuer- 
lion  des  Hurons,  que  fon  coeur  ne  le  tranfportaft  aux 
Nations  les  plus  efloign6es;  n'y  euft-il  que  les  enfans 
h.  baptizer,  qui,  difoit-il,  font  vn  gain  certain  pour  le 
Ciel.  II  nous  difoit  fouuent  qu'il  euft  eft^  bien  aife 
de  tomber  entre  les  mains  des  Iroquois,  &  d'eftre 
leur  captif :  que  s'ils  I'eulTent  brufl6  tout  vif,  il  euft 
eu  pour  le  moins  ce  loifir  Ik,  de  les  inftruire,  autant 
de  temps,  qu'ils  prolongeroient  fes  tourmens:  Que 
s'ils  luy  euflent  donn6  la  vie,  c'euft  efte  vn  riche 
moyen  de  procurer  leur  conuerfion,  qui  nous  eft 
impoffible,  le  chemin  nous  en  eftant  ferm6,  tandis 
qu'ils  font  nos  ennemis. 

le  finiray  ce  Chapitre,  par  quelques  points  d'vne 
lettre,  que  m'efcriuit  celuy  de  nos  Peres,  qui  I'en- 
terra,  &  qui  auoit  pafs6  en  Miffion  auec  luy,  les 
dernieres  annees  de  fa  vie,  voicy  comme  il  m'en 
efcrit. 

Puifque  voftre  Reuerence  defire  que  ie  luy  efcriue, 


ri' 


1! 


■, 


1650] 


RELA  TION  OF  1649-50 


186> 


the  ground ;  to  harness  himself  to  some  [46]  convey- 
ance and  drag  it  over  the  snows,  like  a  horse  at  the 
plough ;  to  care  for  the  sick ;  to  take  charge  of  the 
cooking ;  or  to  go  up  and  down  in  the  forest  in  quest 
of  some  wild  grapes,  achieving  ten  or  twelve  leagues 
in  finding  his  load, — to  procure  from  it,  after  pro- 
tracted labors,  scarcely  as  much  wine  as  would  be 
needed  for  the  celebration  of  a  few  Masses  during 
the  remainder  of  the  year.  In  everything,  he  was 
indifferent  to  himself;  and,  to  look  at  him,  one  would 
think  that  he  had  no  inclination  save  for  that  which 
one  saw  him  doing,  and  that  that  was  the  real  occu- 
pation to  which  God  had  called  him.  "  We  shall  do 
nothing,"  he  used  to  say,  "  for  the  salvation  of  souls, 
if  God  do  not  take  sides  with  us.  When  it  is  he  who 
sets  us  apart  to  this,  by  the  direction  of  obedience, 
he  binds  himself  to  aid  us  in  it;  and,  with  him  assist- 
ing us,  we  shall  accomplish  that  which  he  expects  of 
us.  But,  wben  it  happens  that  we  set  our  hearts  on 
any  particular  employment,  be  it  the  holiest  on 
earth,  God  does  not  bind  himself  to  second  our 
efforts,  but  leaves  us  to  ourselves ;  and,  of  ourselves, 
what  can  we  accomplish  save  a  nothing,  or  the  sin 
which  lowers  us  beneath  a  nothing? " 

He  was  not  so  wedded  to  the  [47]  conversion  of 
the  Hurons  that  his  heart  did  not  go  out  to  Nations 
the  most  distant, —  were  it  only  to  baptize  the  infants, 
"  who,"  he  remarked,  "  are  a  certain  gain  for  Heav- 
en." He  often  said  to  us  that  it  would  have  pleased 
him  to  fall  into  the  hands  of  the  Iroquois,  and  be 
their  captive;  for,  had  they  burned  him  alive,  he 
woirld  at  least  have  had  a  chance  of  instructing  them 
for  as  long  a  time  as  they  prolonged  his  torments; 
and,  if  they  had   spared  his  life,   that  would  have 


\ 


\ 


I 


(1      :  ■? 


■I     ' 


186 


LES  RELA  TIONS  DES  //^SUITES         [Vol.  86 


V 


\ 


ce  que  ie  fgay  des  vertus  du  Pere  Charles  Gamier,  ie 
coucheray  icy  ce  que  i'en  ay  remarqu^.  Ie  puis  dire 
en  general,  que  ie  ne  connoilTois  point  de  vertu,  qui 
luy  manquafl,  &  qu'il  les  [48]  auoit  toutes  dans  vn 
haut  degr6.  Ie  puis  auffi  affeurer,  qu'en  quatre  ans 
que  i'ay  eft^  fon  compagnon,  ie  ne  I'ay  iamais  veu 
faire  vne  faute,  qui  fut  diredtement  centre  quelque 
vertu  II  cherchoit  vrayment  Dieu  dans  fon  employ, 
&  non  pas  foy-mefme ;  &  ie  n'ay  iamais  pu  remarquer 
que  la  nature  agit  en  luy,  particulierement  dans  les 
fondtions  de  nos  MilTions.  II  fe  portoit  ardemment 
k  quoy  que  ce  fuf t ;  auec  autant  de  zele  pour  les 
affaires  d'autruy,  &  pour  I'auancement  des  autres 
Eglifes,  comme  de  la  fienne.  Ie  I'ay  toufiours  veu 
dans  vne  grande  efgalit6,  parmy  la  diuerfit^  des 
fuccez,  fon  coeur,  ny  fon  vifage,  ne  paroiffoit  iamais 
trouble  de  quoy  que  ce  fuft.  II  iouiffoit  d'vne  grande 
paix  d'efprit,  qui  prouenoit  d'vne  grande  conformity 
qu'il  auoit  aux  volontez  de  Dieu;  k  laquelle  vertu, 
depuis  quelque  temps,  il  s'eftudioit  particulierement. 
Tout  Ie  monde  fyait  Ie  zele  qu'il  auoit  pour  la 
conuerfion  des  Sauuages,  comme  il  aymoit  d'eftre  en 
Miffion,  la  peine  qu'il  auoit  ^  la  quitter,  &  combien 
il  preffoit,  lors  qu'il  eftoit  k  la  maifon,  pour  retour- 
ner  en  Miffion.  II  me  fouuient  que  dans  [49,  ma 
maladie,  lors  qu'on  me  croyoit  tout  proche  de  la  mort, 
vn  foir  en  me  veillant,  il  me  demanda,  que  lors  que 
ie  ferois  en  Paradis,  ie  priaffe  pour  la  Miffion  de 
Saint  lofeph,  dont  alors  il  auoit  Ie  foin,  il  me  demanda 
cela  vniquement,  &  d'vne  fagon  que  ie  ne  puis  expli- 
quer,  &  qui  me  fit  conceuoir  qu'il  ne  fongeoit  k  rien, 
qu'au  bien  de  fa  Miffion.  I'admirois  fouuent  en  luy 
qu'il  ne  parloit  iamais   en   mauuaife   part,  d'aucun 


I 


1660] 


RELA  TION  OF  1649 -jo 


137 


been  a  precious  means  of  obtaining  their  conver- 
sion,—  a  thing  impossible,  as  it  is,  the  way  being 
closed  against  us  as  long  as  they  remain  our  enemies. 

I  will  conclude  this  Chapter  with  a  few  extracts 
from  a  letter  which  one  of  our  Fathers,  he  who  buried 
him,  wrote  to  me, —  one  who  had  shared  with  him 
the  work  of  the  Mission  during  the  last  years  of  his 
life.     He  writes  to  me  thus : 

"  Since  your  Reverence  desires  that  I  should  relate 
to  you  what  I  know  of  the  virtues  of  Father  Charles 
Garnier,  I  will  set  down  here  such  as  have  come 
tinder  my  observation.  I  ran  affirm,  in  a  general 
way,  that  I  knew  of  no  virtue  that  he  lacked,  and 
that  he  [48]  possessed  all  virtues  in  a  high  degree. 
I  can  also  assert  that,  in  the  four  years  during  which 
I  have  been  his  companion,  I  have  never  known  him 
to  commit  a  fault  directly  opposed  to  any  virtue. 
In  his  work,  he  truly  sought  God,  and  not  himself. 
I  never  observed  any  action  in  him  prompted  by 
nature,  especially  in  our  Missionary  duties.  He 
ardently  offered  himself  for  these,  whatever  they 
might  be ;  and  with  as  much  zeal  for  the  concerns  of 
others,  and  for  the  advancement  of  other  Churches, 
as  for  his  own.  I  have  always  remarked  in  him  a 
wonderful  equanimity  amid  the  inequalities  of 
success ;  neither  his  heart  nor  his  countenance  ever 
appeared  troubled  by  anything.  He  enjoyed  a  great 
peace  of  mind,  the  effect  of  the  perfect  conformity  of 
his  will  with  that  of  God, — in  the  attainment  of 
which  virtue  he  had  been,  for  some  time,  particu- 
larly studious.  Every  one  knows  how  zealous  he 
was  for  the  conversion  of  the  Savages ;  how  he  loved 
to  be  on  Mission  duty ;  the  pain  he  felt  in  leaving  it ; 
and  how  he  hasted,  when  at  the  house,  to  return  to 


It 


:  ( 


ii  j 

ii 


188 


LES  RELATIONS  DES /^SUITES        [Vol   35 


Sauuage,  quelque  impertinent  qu'il  fult.-  &  moy  fou- 
uent  liiy  parlant  de  quelque  faute  qui  m'eult  d^pleu 
en  eux;  il  efcoutoit  paifiblement,  &  I'excufoit;  ou 
bien  ne  difoit  mot:  &  iamais  ie  n'ay  pu  remarquer 
ny  en  fes  paroles,  ny  en  fes  adtions,  fi  peu  que  ce  foit 
de  paffion  ^  I'endroit  d'aucun  Sauuage.  II  n'auoit 
point  d'autres  penfdes,  que  des  chofes  de  fa  Mifllon: 
il  eftoit  ignorant  de  la  France,  comme  vn  homme  qui 
iamais  n'en  eft^;  &  les  nouuelles  qu'il  en  enten- 

doit  vne  fo  chaque  ann^e,  faifoient  fi  peu  d'im- 
preffion  dans  fon  efprit,  qu'il  les  oublioit  incontinet. 
Ce  n'efloit  qu'auec  violence  qu'il  fe  captiuoit  ^ 
I'entretien  de  quelques  letres,  dont  il  ne  fe  pouuoit 
[50]  difpenfer.  II  fembloit  n'eflre  nay  que  pour  la 
conuerfion  des  Sauuages :  fa  ferueur  en  cdt  endroit 
croilToit  tous  les  iours.  II  auoit  vn  fenfible  regret, 
quand  quelque  petit  enfant  luy  efchappoit,  mourant 
fans  Baptefme :  cette  nouuelle  le  furprenoit,  &  I'affli- 
geoit,  comme  vn  autre  feroit  afflig6  de  la  mort  d'vn 
de  fes  plur  proclies  parens.  Son  zele  eltoit  infati- 
gable :  il  'oit  fouuent  le  manger  &  le  repos  pour 

fes  Chrelti^  .  Ie  I'ay  veu  partir  fouuent  d'vn  tres- 
mauuais  temps,  &  marcher  auec  de  grandes  incom- 
moditez,  allant  d'vn  bourg  k  I'autre;  tomber  dans 
les  Riuieres;  Rien  n'efloit  cap?')le  de  I'arrefter, 
quand  il  eftoit  queltion  de  trauailler  pour  les  Sau- 
uages. II  s'accommodoit  bien  auec  fon  compagnon, 
quel  qu'il  futt,  iamais  il  ne  m'a  dit  parole,  qui  fufl 
le  moins  du  monde  contre  la  Charity.  II  prenoit 
toufiours  le  pire  pour  foy,  &  m'accommodoit  tn  tout; 
&  il  tafchoit  de  couurir  fa  charit6  du  pretexte  de  fa 
propre  commodity;  comme  fi  ce  qui  eftoit  le  pire, 
luy  euft  ei\€  le  plus  commode.     Son  obeifl!ance  eftoit 


.■  t 


ill 


^ 


11 


1650] 


RELA  TION  OF  1649-50 


189 


the  Mission.  I  remember  that  in  [49]  my  sickness, 
when  they  believed  me  to  be  near  death,  one  even- 
ing, watching  with  me,  he  begged  that,  when  I 
should  be  in  Paradise,  I  would  pray  for  the  Mission 
of  Saint  Joseph,  of  which  he  then  had  the  care.  He 
entreated  for  that  above  everything  else,  and  in  a 
way  that  I  cannot  describe,  but  which  gave  me  to 
understand  that  he  thought  of  nothing  but  the  wel- 
fare of  his  Mission.  It  was  often  a  source  of  admi- 
ration to  me  that  he  never  spoke  ill  of  any  Savage, 
however  insolent  he  might  have  been.  Often,  too, 
when  I  spoke  to  him  of  some  fault  in  them  that  had 
displeased  me,  he  would  listen  quietly,  and  either 
excuse  it  or  say  nothing ;  nor  have  I  ever  seen  him 
manifest,  by  word  or  action,  even  the  least  passion- 
ate feeling  toward  any  Savage.  He  thought  only  of 
the  concerns  of  his  Mission.  He  was  ignorant  of 
France,  as  if  he  were  a  man  who  had  never  belonged 
to  it;  and  news  of  it,  which  reached  him  once  in 
every  year,  made  so  little  impression  on  him,  that  it 
was  immediately  forgotten.  It  was  only  by  great 
effort  that  he  brought  himself  to  make  a  reply,  from 
which  he  could  not  spare  himself,  to  certain  letters. 
[50]  He  seemed  to  have  been  born  only  for  the  con- 
version of  the  Savages,  his  fervor  in  that  respect 
increasing  every  day.  It  was  a  matter  of  keen  regret 
to  him  when  some  little  child  escaped  his  vigilance, 
and  died  without  Baptism ;  the  intelligence  surpris- 
ing and  afflicting  him  as  another  would  be  afflicted 
by  the  death  of  one  of  his  nearest  relatives.  His 
zeal  was  unwearying;  he  would  often  leave  his  meals 
or  sleep,  for  the  sake  of  his  Christians.  I  have  seen 
him,  many  times,  set  out  in  fearful  weather,  to  walk 
with  great  difficulty  from  one  village  to  another,  even 


I    U, 


,1 


:» 


140 


LES  RELATIONS  DES  J&SUITES         [Vol.85 


rare,  &  pleine  de  foufmiflion,  &  de  fimplicit6,  quoy 
qu'il  fut  quelquefois  [51]  particulier  en  fes  penftSes: 
dez  le  moment  qu'il  connoiiToit  vn  fentiment  con- 
traire  ?i  celuy  du  Superieur,  il  agilloit  auec  autant 
d'ardeur  dans  I'efprit  d'autruy,  qu'il  euft  fait  dans  le 
Hen.  71  efloit  tres-exadt  dans  I'obferuation  de  nos 
Regies;  &  quelque  occupation  qu'il  eurt,  pour  la  con- 
uerfjon  des  Sauuages,  iamais  il  n'euft  perdu  aucun 
temps  de  fes  Oraifons,  de  fes  ledtures  fpirituelles,  ny 
de  fon  examen.  II  retranchoit  de  fon  fommeil  ce 
qui  luy  euft  m.\nqu6  pour  c^t  effet,  dans  la  brieuet6 
du  iour.  Sa  Chaftet^  eftoit  fi  puro,  qu'elle  me 
paroilfoit  Angelique:  dans  vne  Modeftie  auffi  rare, 
que  i'en  aye  point  veu  en  France.  Mais  fur  tout, 
i'admirois  fon  Humility,  il  auoit  vn  tres-bas  fenti- 
ment de  foy-mefme,  &  quoy  qu'il  euft  des  talens 
eminens  pour  ces  Miffions,  neantmoins  il  fe  poftpo- 
foit  ^  tous  les  autres.  Les  loiianges  des  hommes  ne 
ie  touchoient  aucunement.  le  ne  I'ay  iamais  ouy 
parler,  ny  "k  fon  auantage,  ny  auec  mefpris  d'autruy. 
lufques  icy  font  les  termes  du  Pere  qui  m'efcrit. 

I'ay  creil  que  dans  la  naifuet^  de  cette  lettre,  ceux 
qui  f9auent  ce  que  c'eft  de  la  [52]  vertu  folide,  & 
qui  ont  I'oeil  ouuert  aux  chofes  qui  vrayement  redent 
vne  ame  grande  aux  yeux  de  Dieu;  y  defcouuriront 
vn  threfor,  que  poffedoit  ce  feruiteur  de  Dieu. 
I'adioufteray  icy  feulement,  que  tous  ceux  qui  I'ont 
pratiqu6,  I'ont  eftim6  vn  Saint,  &  qu'il  auoit  I'appro- 
bation  de  tout  le  monde,  fans  en  excepter  aucun. 
Les  Hurons  le  nommoient  Oracha. 

Voicy  encore  vn  petit  mot  qu'il  efcriuit  de  I'Lle  de 
faindl  lofeph  k  fes  deux  freres,  f5auoir  eft  le  R.  P. 
Henry  de  S.  lofeph  de  I'Ordre  des  Carmes,  &  le  R. 


f' 


I  I 


1650] 


JiELA  TION  OF  1649-50 


141 


falling  into  Rivers.  Nothing  stopped  him  when  it 
was  a  question  of  work  for  the  Savages.  To  a 
companion,  whoever  he  might  be,  he  accommodated 
himself  in  all  respects ;  and  to  me  never  uttered  a 
syllable  that  in  the  least  degree  infringed  Charity. 
He  always  took  the  worst  of  everything  for  himself, 
and  consulted  my  convenience  in  everything.  He 
strove  also  to  hide  his  charity  under  pretense  of  his 
own  comfort, — making  it  appear  that,  to  him,  the 
worst  had  been  the  most  agreeable.  His  obedience 
was  exceptional, —  most  simple  and  unquestioning. 
Although  he  was  sometimes  [51]  punctilious  in  his 
ideas,  he  would,  from  the  moment  that  he  became 
conscious  of  a  sentiment  opposed  to  that  of  the 
Superior,  act  as  readily  upon  the  judgment  of  another 
as,  before,  he  would  have  done  upon  his  own.  He 
was  very  exact  in  his  observance  of  our  Rules;  and, 
however  occupied  he  might  be  in  the  conversion  of 
the  Savages,  he  never  missed  any  of  his  times  of 
Prayer,  of  spiritual  reading,  or  of  self-examination. 
What  time  w^as  wanting  to  him  for  this  purpose, 
owing  to  the  shortness  of  the  day,  he  took  from  his 
sleep.  His  Chastity  was  so  unsullied  that  it  appeared 
to  me  Angelic,  and  was  manifested  in  a  Modesty  so 
rare  that,  in  France,  I  have  seen  nothing  comparable 
to  it.  But,  above  all,  I  admired  his  Humility.  He 
held  himself  in  the  very  humblest  estimation ;  and 
although  he  had  eminent  talents  for  these  Missions, 
he  assigned  to  himself  a  place  behind  all  the  others. 
The  praises  of  men  had  no  effect  upon  him.  I  have 
never  heard  him  speak  either  in  commendation  of 
himself,  or  slightingly  of  others."  Thus  far,  the 
words  of  the  Father  who  writes  to  me. 

I  have  thought  that,  in  the  ingenuousness  of  this 


il(' 


i 


I 


U 
'  J 


ii 


I 


142 


LLS  RELATIONS  DES  JJ^SUITES        [Vol.  36 


1/        I 


P.  lofeph  de  Paris  Capucin.  Cette  lettre  fait  voir  la 
trempe  de  fon  coeur,  &  le  preffentiment  qu'il  auoit 
de  fa  mort.  Ce  petit  mot,  dit  i],  eft  pour  nous 
encourager  tous  trois  k  nous  hafter  d*  aimer  noftre 
bon  Maiftre;  car  ie  croy  qu'il  eft  difficile  que  quel- 
qu'vn  de  nous  trois  ne  foit  bien  proche  du  terme  de 
fa  carriere.  Redoublons  done  nos  ferueurs,  haftons 
le  pas,  redoublons  nos  prieres  les  vns  pour  les  autres, 
&  faifons  vne  nouuelle  proteftation,  que  celuy  que 
noftre  Seigneur  appellera  le  premier  h.  foy  de  nous 
trois,  fera  I'aduocat  des  [53]  deux  qui  refteront,  pour 
leur  obtenir  de  Noftre  Seigneur  fon  faindt  amour,  & 
vne  parfaic5te  vnion  auec  luy,  &  vne  perfeuerance 
finale.  Ie  fais  done  le  premier  cette  proteftation,  & 
prie  Noftre  Seigneur  de  tout  mon  coeur,  de  pofleder 
nos  trois  coeurs,  &  de  n'en  faire  qu'vn  auec  le  fien 
d^s  h.  prefent  &  dans  I'eternit^.  Voila  le  ftile  d'vn 
Sain(5t  qui  aimoit  fes  freres  en  Saint  &  comme 
des  Saints:  aulTi  auons-nous  appris  qu'il  auoit  des 
marques  de  fainc5tet^  d6s  fa  tendre  ieunefCe. 

Deffundt  Monfieur  Gamier  fon  pere,  auoit  cou- 
ftume  de  donner  tous  les  mois  quelque  piece  d'argent 
^  fes  enfans  pour  leurs  petits  diuertiffemens  dans 
leurs  eftudes,  le  P.  Charles  Garnier  eltant  penfionaire 
en  noftre  College  de  Paris,  &  fortant  les  fours  de 
conge  pour  s'aller  vn  petit  recreer  en  viHe,  au  lieu 
de  porter  fon  argent  en  vn  ieu  de  paulme,  I'alloit 
letter  dans  la  boette  des  prifonniers  du  petit  Chafte- 
let/  L'vn  de  fes  bons  freres  qui  luy  a  veu  donner 
pour  vne  feule  aumofne  toute  la  recreation  d'vn  mois, 
adioufte,  que  pallant  vn  iovir  fur  le  Pont-neuf,  & 
voyant  vn  liure  fale  &  impie,  [54]  qu'on  difoit  auoir 
efl6  compost  par  Theophile,  il  I'achepta,  &  le  mit 


& 
)ir 
lit 


1650J 


RELA  TION  OF  1649-50 


143 


letter,  they  who  know  what  [52]  solid  virtue  is,  and 
whose  eyes  are  open  to  the  things  that  really  make  a 
soul  great  in  the  sight  of  God,  will  discover  the 
treasure  which  this  his  servant  possessed.  I  will 
merely  add  here  that  all  who  associated  with  him 
regarded  him  as  a  Saint,  and  that  every  one,  with- 
out exception,  spoke  well  of  him.  The  Hurons 
named  him  Oracha. 

There  yet  remains  a  little  word  addressed  by  him, 
from  the  Island  of  saint  Joseph,  to  his  two  broth- 
ers,—  that  is,  the  Reverend  Father  Henry  de  St. 
Joseph,  of  the  Order  of  the  Carmelites,  and  the  Rev- 
erend Father  Joseph,  of  Paris,  a  Capuchin.  That 
letter  discloses  to  us  the  temper  of  his  heart,  and  the 
presentiment  he  had  of  his  death.  "  This  little 
word,"  he  wrote,  "is  to  encourage  us,  all  three,  to 
hasten  on  in  the  love  of  our  holy  Master;  for  I  can 
hardly  think  that  some  one  of  us  three  may  not  be  very 
near  the  close  of  his  career.  Let  us  redouble  then 
our  zeal,  hasten  our  steps,  redouble  our  prayers,  each 
for  the  others,  and  make  a  new  protestation  that  he 
whom  our  Lord  shall  first  of  us  three  call  to  himself 
shall  intercede  for  the  [53]  two  who  remain, — to 
obtain  for  them,  from  Our  Lord,  his  holy  love,  a  per- 
fect union  with  him,  and  the  grace  of  final  persever- 
ance. I  make  then,  the  first,  this  protestation;  and 
I  fervently  beseech  Our  Lord  that  he  will  possess  our 
three  hearts,  and  make  them  one  with  his  own,  both 
now  and  in  eternity."  This  was  the  manner  of 
speech  of  a  Saint,  who  loved  his  brothers  as  a  Saint, 
and  as  Saints.  We  have  been  informed  also  that  he 
possessed  these  tokens  of  saintly  character  from  his 
earliest  youth. 

The  late  Monsieur  Garnier,  his  father,  was  in  the 


'5 


^ 


h 


m 


i! 


1 


144 


LES  RELA  TIONS  DES  /^SUITES         [Vol.  36 


\^' 


)\ 


en  eltat  de  n'eftre  iamais  leu  de  perfonne,  peut 
eftre,  difoit-il,  que  quelqu'vn  le  lifant  offenferoit 
Dieu,  il  vaut  mieux  I'achepter  &  le  perdre.  Vne 
autre  fois  fes  camarades  eftans  entr^s  dans  vn  caba- 
ret pour  y  faire  bone  chere,  comme  il  eftoit  de  la 
Congregation  de  Noftre  Dame,  qui  deffend  aux 
ieunes  gens  d'entrer  dans  de  femblables  lieux,  il  les 
attendit  h.  la  porte  comme  vn  laquais  attendroit  fon 
maiftre,  ces  preludes  marquant  vne  grande  faindtet6 
future.  le  ne  m'eftonne  pas  fi  Monlieur  fon  pere 
voyant  que  fon  fils  vouloit  eftre  lefuifte,  dit  k  I'vn 
de  nos  Peres,  Si  ie  n'aimois  vniquement  voflre  Com- 
pagnie,  ie  ne  vous  donnerois  pas  vn  enfant  qui  depuis 
fa  naiflance  iufques  k  maintenant  n'a  iamais  commis 
la  moindre  defobeiffance,  &  ne  m'a  iamais  caus6  le 
moindre  d^plaifir.  La  gloire  de  fa  mort  a  couronn6 
I'innocence  de  fa  vie. 


^  f 


1650J 


RELA  TION  OF  164^-50 


146 


habit  of  giving  to  his  children,  every  month,  during 
their  term  of  study,  a  small  sum  of  money  toward 
their  little  amusements.  While  Father  Charles  Gar- 
nier  was  a  boarder  in  our  College  at  Paris,  setting 
out  at  holiday-times  for  a  little  recreation  in  the  city, 
instead  of  spending  his  money  on  a  game  at  tennis, 
he  threw  it  into  the  prisoners'  box  of  the  petit  Chas- 
telet.^  One  of  his  good  brothers,  who  saw  him  give 
at  a  single  alms  a  whole  month's  allowance,  adds 
that,  passing  one  day  over  the  Pont-neuf  and  notic- 
ing an  indecent  and  impious  book, —  [54]  written, 
it  was  said,  by  Theophile,^  —  he  bought  it,  and  so 
defaced  it  that  no  one  could  read  it.  "  Perhaps," 
said  he,  "  some  one  in  reading  it  might  offend  God; 
it  is  better  to  buy  and  destroy  it."  At  another  time, 
his  companions  having  gone  into  a  tavern  to  make 
merry,  he  waited — as  he  belonged  to  the  Congrega- 
tion of  Our  Lady,  which  prohibits  young  men  from 
going  into  places  of  the  kind  —  for  them  at  the  door, 
as  a  servant  would  wait  for  his  master.  Such  begin- 
nings spoke  of  a  distinguished  sax^.tity  in  times  to 
come.  I  am  not  surprised  that  Monsieur  his  father, 
when  he  saw  that  it  was  his  son's  wish  to  become  a 
Jesuit,  said  to  one  of  our  Fathers:  "  If  I  did  not  love 
your  Society  above  all  others,  I  would  not  give  to 
you  a  child  who,  from  the  time  of  his  birth  to  the 
present,  has  never  been  guilty  of  one  act  of  disobedi- 
ence, or  caused  me  the  least  displeasure."  The 
glory  of  his  death  has  crowned  the  innocence  of  his 
life. 


i 


I      ! 


li 


146 


LES  RELATIONS  DES  J&SUITES         [Vol.35 


il 


I 


B '  ' 


[55]  CHAPITRE  IV. 

DE    LA    MORT   DU    PEKE   N0£L   CHABANEL. 

VOICY  la  lixiefme  vidtime  que  Dieu  a  pris  k  foy, 
de  ceux  de  noftre  Compagnie,  qu'il  auoit 
appelle  en  cette  Miffion  des  Hurons;  n'y 
ayant  eu  encore  aucun  de  nous  qui  y  foit  mort,  fans 
y  refpandre  fon  fang,  &  confommer  le  facrifice  tout 
entier. 

Le  Pere  Noel  Chabanel  eftoit  compagnon  de  MifTion 
du  Pere  Charles  Garnier,  &  lors  que  le  bourg  de 
faindt  lean  fut  pris  par  les  Iroquois,  il  n'y  auoit  que 
deux  iours  qu'ils  s'eftoient  feparez,  felon  les  ordres 
qu'ils  en  auoient  receu :  Nos  Peres  &  moy  ayans  iug6  &, 
propos  de  ne  pas  tenir  deux  Miffionaires  expofez  dans 
le  danger,  outre  que  la  famine  y  eftoit  fi  extreme, 
qu'ils  ne  pouuoient  trouuer  vne  nourriture  fuffifante 
pour  deux  perfonnes.  Mais  Dieu  ne  voulut  pas 
qu' ayans  vefcu  enfemhle  fous  le  ioug  d'vne  mefme 
Miffion,  ils  fulTent  feparez  k  la  mort. 

[56]  Ce  bon  Pere,  reuenant  done  oil  robeiffance  le 
rappelloit,  auoit  pafse  par  la  Miflion  de  faindt  Mathias, 
oil  eltoient  deux  aiitres  de  nos  Peres,  &  les  auoit  quitte 
le  matin  du  feptiefme  iour  de  Decembre.  Ayant  fait 
fix  grandes  lieiies  d'vn  cliemin  tres  difficile;  il  fut 
furpris  de  la  nuidt,  au  milieu  des  bois,  eltant  en 
compagnie  de  fept  ou  huidt  Chretiens  Hurons.  Son 
monde  eftoit  couche  &  endormy ;  luy  feul  veilloit,  & 
efloit  en  priere.     Sur  la  minuit  il  entend  du  bruit, 


i   I 


1/ 


f 


1650] 


RELA  TION  OF  1649-50 


147 


■  h\ 


[55]  CHAPTER  IV. 

OF  THE  DEATH  OF  FATHER  NO£l  CHABANEL. 

HERE  is  the  sixth  victim  whom  God  has  taken  to 
himself  from  those  of  our  Society  whom  he 
had  called  to  this  Mission  of  the  Hurons, — 
there  having  been,  as  yet,  not  one  of  us  who  has  died 
there  without  shedding  his  blood,  and  consummating 
the  sacrifice  in  its  entirety. 

Father  Noel  Chabanel  was  the  Missionary  compan- 
ion of  Father  Charles  Garnier ;  and  when  the  village 
of  saint  Jean  was  taken  by  the  Iroquois,  there  were 
but  two  days  in  which  they  were  separated,  in 
accordance  with  the  orders  which  they  had  received, — 
our  Fathers  and  I  having  thought  it  wiser  not  to 
keep  two  Missionaries  exposed  to  danger ;  consider- 
ing, besides,  that  the  famine  in  that  quarter  was  so 
severe  that  sufficient  food  for  both  could  not  be 
obtained.  But  it  was  not  God's  will  that,  having  lived 
and  been  yoked  together  in  the  same  Mission,  they 
should  be  separated  in  death, 

[56]  This  good  Father,  then,  returning  whither 
obedience  recalled  him,  had  passed  through  the  Mis- 
sion of  saint  Mathias,  where  were  two  other  of  our 
Fathers,  and  had  left  them  on  the  morning  of  the 
seventh  day  of  December.  Having  traveled  six  long 
leagues  over  a  most  difficult  road,  he  found  himself 
overtaken  by  night  in  the  thick  of  the  forest,  being 
in  the  company  of  seven  or  eight  Christian  Hurons. 
His   men   were   resting,    and   asleep;    he  only   was 


III 


I 


•p^ 


148 


LES  RELATIONS  DES  jASUITES        [Vol.  36 


fjL  des  cris:  partie  de  I'arm^e  ennemie  vidtorieufe, 
qui  tenoit  ce  chemin ;  partie  auffi  des  captif s,  pris  ce 
iour  Ik  mefme  dans  le  bourg  de  faindt  lean,  qui 
chantoient  leur  chanfon  de  guerre  felon  leur  cou- 
ftume.  Le  P-^re  k  ce  bruit  refueille  fes  gens,  qui 
fans  delay  prennent  la  fuite  par  dans  les  bois,  & 
enfin  fe  fauuerent,  s'eftans  difperfez  9k  &  Ik,  &  ayans 
pris  leur  route  vers  Le  lieu  mefme  d'oh  venoit 
I'ennemy,  quoy  qu'vn  peu  k  I'efcart. 

Ces  Chreftiens  efchappez  du  peril,  arriuerent  k  la 
Nation  du  Petun,  &  firent  leur  rapport,  que  le  Pere 
auoit  fait  quelque  chemin,  voulant  les  fuiure:  mais 
[57]  <iue  n'en  pouuant  plus,  il  s'eftoit  mis  k  genoux, 
&  qu'il  leur  auoit  dit,  N'importe  que  ie  meure ;  cette 
vie  eft  bien  peu  de  chofe,  c'eft  le  bon-heur  du  Para- 
dis,  que  les  Iroquois  ne  me  pourront  rauir. 

Sur  I'aube  du  iour,  le  Pere  ayant  change  de  route, 
voulant  venir  nous  trouuer  en  I'lfle  oil  nous  eftions, 
fe  vit  arreft^  au  bord  d'vne  riuiere,  qui  luy  trauerfoit 
fon  chemin.  Vn  Huron  er.  a  fait  le  rapport/  adiou- 
flant  qu'il  le  paffa  dans  fon  canot,  au  dejk  de  la 
riuiere;  &  que  pour  fuir  plus  leflcment,  il  s'eftoit 
defcharg^  de  fon  chapeau,  &  d'vn  fac  ou  eftoient  fes 
efcrits,  &  d'vne  couuerture,  qui  fert  k  nos  Miffion- 
naires  de  robe  &  de  manteau,  de  paillalTe  &  de 
matelats,  de  lidt,  &  de  tout  autre  meuble,  &  mefme 
de  maifon,  lors  qu'ils  font  en  campagne,  n' ayans 
point  pour  lors,  d'autre  abry.  Du  depuis  nous 
n'auons  pu  apprendre  aucune  autre  nouuelle  du  Pere. 

Nous  ne  fommes  pas  afleurez,  comment  il  fera 
mort,  &  s'il  ne  fera  point  tomb^  entre  les  mains  des 
ennemis,  qui  en  effedt  tuerent  fur  le  mefme  chemin, 
vne  trentaine  de  perfonnes.     Ou  pluftoft  que  s'eftant 


1650] 


RELA  TION  OF  i64g-5o 


149 


watching,  and  in  prayer.  Toward  midnight,  he 
heard  a  noise,  accompanied  with  cries, —  partly  of  a 
victorious  hostile  force  who  occupied  that  road; 
partly,  also,  of  captives,  taken  that  very  day  in  the 
village  of  saint  Jean,  who  were  singing,  as  was  their 
custom,  their  war-song.  On  hearing  the  noise,  the 
Father  awoke  his  men,  who  fled  at  once  into  the 
forest,  and  eventually  saved  themselves, —  scattering, 
some  here,  some  there;  and  taking  their  route  toward 
the  very  place  from  which  the  enemy  had  come  out, 
though  a  little  at  one  side  of  it. 

These  Christians,  escaped  from  the  peril,  arrived 
at  the  Tobacco  Nation,  and  reported  that  the  Father 
had  gone  some  little  way  with  them,  intending  to 
follow  them;  but  [57]  that,  becoming  exhausted, 
he  had  fallen  on  his  knees,  saying  to  them,  "  It  mat- 
ters not  that  I  die ;  this  life  is  a  very  small  considera- 
tion; of  the  blessedness  of  Paradise,  the  Iroquois 
can  never  rob  me." 

At  daybreak,  the  Father,  having  altered  his  route, 
desirous  of  coming  to  the  Island  where  we  were, 
found  himself  checked  at  the  bank  of  a  river,  which 
crossed  his  path.  A  Huron  reported  the  circum- 
stance, adding  that  he  had  passed  him,  in  his  canoe, 
on  this  side  of  the  stream ;  and  that,  to  render  his- 
flight  more  easy,  the  Father  had  disburdened  him- 
self of  his  hat,  and  of  a  bag  that  contained  his  writ- 
ings; also  of  a  blanket,  which  our  Missionaries  use 
as  robe  and  cloak,  as  mattress  and  cushion,  for  a  bed, 
and  for  every  other  convenience, —  even  for  a  dwell- 
ing-place, when  in  the  open  country,  and  when  they 
have,  for  the  time,  no  other  shelter.  Since  then, 
we  have  been  unable  to  learn  any  other  news  of  the- 
Father. 


n 

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II 

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li 


} 


r 


180 


LES  RELATIONS  DES  J&SUITES         [Vol.35 


t* 


I 


W 


m. 


efgar6  dans  les  bois,  il  y  [58]  foit  mort,  partie  de 
faim,  partie  de  froid,  au  pied  de  quelque  arbre,  oti 
la  foibleffe  I'ayt  oblig^  de  s'arrefler.  Mais  apres 
tout,  ce  qui  nous  femble  plus  probable,  c'eft  qu'il 
aura  efi;6  tu6  par  ce  Huron,  le  dernier  qui  I'ayt  veu, 
autrefois  Chreftien,  &  depuis  Apoflat;  lequel  pour 
ioiiyr  des  defpouilles  du  Pere,  I'aura  affomm^,  &  aura 
iett^  fon  corps  dans  la  Riuiere  Si  nous  euffions  voulu 
pourfuiure  cette  affaire,  ie  croy  que  nous  euffions  trou- 
u6  des  preuues  conuainquantes  contre  ce  meurtrier: 
Mais  dans  ces  miferes  publiques,  nous  iugeafmes  plus 
^  propos  d'eftouffer  les  foupgons  qu'on  pouuoit  en 
auoir;  &  nous-mefmes  fermafmes  les  yeux  k  ce  que 
nous  eftions  bien  aifes  qu'on  ne  vit  pas.  Ce  nous 
eft  affez  que  Dieu  foit  feruy. 

Le  Pere  Noel  Chabanel  nous  eftoit  venu  de  la 
Prouince  de  Tolofe,  I'annde  1643.  ayant  eft(5  receu  en 
noftre  Compagnie  d^s  I'ann^e  1630.  alors  aag6  feule- 
ment  de  dix-fept  ans.  Dieu  luy  auoit  donn6  vne  forte 
vocation  en  ces  pais,  mais  elle  ne  fut  pas  fans  combat 
eflant  icy,  mefme  apres  les  trois,  les  quatre,  &  les 
cinq  ans  d'eftude,  pour  apprendre  la  [59]  langue  des 
Sauuages,  il  s'y  voyoit  fi  peu  auance,  qu'k  peine 
pouuoit-il  fe  faire  entendre  dans  les  chofes  les  plus 
communes.  Cette  mortification  n'eft  pas  petite  k  vn 
homme  qui  brufle  du  defir  de  la  conuerfion  des  Sau- 
uages, &  qui  d'ailleurs  n' auoit  iamais  manqu6  ny  de 
memoire,  ny  d'efprit,  qu'il  auoit  fait  affez  paroiftre, 
ayant  enfeign^  quelques  annees,  auec  fatisfadtion,  la 
Rhetorique  en  France.  Son  humeur,  en  fuite  de 
cela,  eftoit  fi  efloign^e  des  fagons  d'agir  des  Sauuages, 
qu'il  ne  pouuoit  quafi  rien  agreer  en  eux,  leur  veue 
luy  eftoit   onereufe,  leur   entretien,  &   tout   ce   qui 


f\ 


1C50] 


RKLj4  riON  OF  i64<)-5o 


16' 


Of  the  manner  of  his  death  we  are  uncertain, — 
whether  he  may  have  fallen  into  the  hands  of  the 
enemies,  who  actually  slew  on  the  same  road  some 
thirty  persons ;  or  that,  having  missed  his  way  in  the 
forest,  he  [58]  may  have  died  there,  partly  from  hun- 
ger, partly  from  cold,  at  the  foot  of  some  tree  at 
which  weakness  had  obliged  him  to  halt.  But,  after 
all,  it  seems  to  us  most  probable  that  he  was  mur- 
dered by  that  Huron, — once  a  Christian,  but  since 
an  Apostate, —  the  last  to  see  him,  and  who,  to  enjoy 
the  possessions  of  the  Father,  would  have  killed  him, 
and  thrown  his  body  into  the  River.  Had  we  been 
inclined  to  pursue  this  matter  further,  I  feel  sure 
that  we  would  have  discovered  proofs  sufficient  to 
convict  this  murderer ;  but,  in  such  general  misery, 
we  judged  it  wiser  to  smother  our  suspicions;  and 
we  closed  our  own  eyes  to  what  we  were  well  pleased 
was  not  evident.  It  is  enough  for  us  that  God's 
purposes  should  have  been  served. 

Father  Noel  Chabanel  had  come  to  us  from  the 
Province  of  Toulouse,  in  the  year  1643,  ha^Lig  been 
received  into  our  Society  as  early  as  the  year  1630, 
when  he  was  only  seventeen  years  of  age.  God  had 
given  him  a  strong  vocation  for  these  countries ;  but, 
once  here,  he  had  much  to  contend  with ;  for,  even 
after  three,  four,  and  five  years  of  effort  to  learn  the 
[59]  language  of  the  Savages,  he  found  his  progress 
so  slight,  that  hardly  could  he  make  himself  under- 
stood even  in  the  most  ordinary  matters.  This  was 
no  little  mortification  to  a  man  who  burned  with 
desire  for  the  conversion  of  the  Savages,  who  in  other 
ways  was  deficient  neither  in  memory  nor  mind,  and 
who  had  made  this  manifest  enough  by  having  for 
some  years  successfully  taught  Rhetoric  in  France. 


n 


■(< 


^ 


fi4 


I 


■« 


102 


LKS  RELA  TIONS  DES  jASUITES         [Vol.  8S 


venoit  de  ce  coft6  Ik.  II  ne  pouuoit  fe  faire  aux 
viures  du  Pais,  &  la  demoure  des  Miflions  efloit  fi 
violente  k  toute  fa  nature,  qu'il  y  auoit  des  peines 
extraordinaires,  fans  aucune  confolation;  au  moins 
de  celles  qu'on  appelle  fenfibles,  toufiours  coucher  \ 
plate  terre,  viure  depuis  le  matin  iufqu'au  foir  dans 
vn  petit  enfer  de  fum^e,  &  dans  vn  lieu  oti  fouuent 
le  matin  on  fe  trouue  couuert  de  neiges,  qui  entrent 
de  tous  coftez  dans  les  cabanes  des  Sauuages ;  ou  on 
efl  remply  de  vermine ;  ou  tous  les  fens  ont  cbacun 
[60]  leur  tourment,  &  de  nuidl,  &  de  iour,  n'auoir 
iamais  que  de  I'eau  toute  pure  pour  efteindre  fa  foif, 
&  les  meilleurs  metz  qu'on  y  mange  pour  I'ordinaire, 
n'ellant  que  de  la  cole,  faite  de  farine  de  bled  d'Inde 
boiiillie  dans  I'eau:  y  trauailler  fans  cefTe,  eftant  tou- 
fiours fi  mal  nourry,  &  n'auoir  pas  vn  feul  moment 
de  la  iourn^e,  auquel  on  puille  fe  retirer  en  vn  lieu, 
qui  ne  foit  public:  n'auoir  point  d'autre  chambre, 
d'autre  fale,  ny  d'autre  cabinet,  pour  faire  fes  eftudes ; 
non  pas  mefme  aucune  autre  lumiere,  que  celle  d'vn 
feu  enfum^,  entourr^  en  mefme  temps  de  dix  &  de 
quinze  perfonnes,  &  d'enfans  de  tous  aages,  qui  crient, 
qui  pleurent,  qui  y  difputent,  qui  s'entretiennent  de 
leur  mefnage;  qui  y  font  leur  cuifine,  leur  repas, 
leur  trauail,  en  vn  mot  tout  ce  qui  fe  fait  dans  la 
maifon.  Quand  Dieu  auec  cela  retire  fes  graces 
fenfibles,  &  fe  cache  k  vne  perfonne,  qui  ne  refpire 
qu'apres  luy;  quand  il  la  laiffe  en  proye  \  la  trifteffe, 
&  aux  ddgoufts,  &  aux  auerfions  de  la  Nature :  ce  ne 
font  pas  \^  '^v's  efpreuues  qui  foiet  "k  la  portde  d'vne 
veHu  c  ■       &  il  taut  que  I'amour  de  Dieu  foit 

"     -«=  dans  vn  cceur,  pour  n'y  eftre  pas 

z  les  veues  continuelles  des  perils, 


1660] 


RELA  TION  OF  164^-50 


168 


In  consequence  of  this,  the  temper  of  his  mind  was 
so  opposed  to  the  ways  and  manners  of  the  Savages, 
that  he  saw  in  them  scarce  anything  that  pleased 
him;  the  sight  of  them,  their  talk,  and  all  that 
concerned  them,  he  found  irksome.  He  could  not 
accustom  himself  to  the  food  of  the  Country;  and 
residence  in  the  Missions  did  such  violence  to  his 
entire  nature  that  he  encountered  therein  extraordi- 
nary hardships,  without  any  consolation, —  at  least,  of 
the  character  that  we  call  sensible.  There,  one  must 
always  sleep  on  the  bare  ground,  and  live  from  morn- 
ing to  night  in  a  little  hell  of  smoke ;  in  a  place 
where  often,  of  a  morning,  one  finds  himself  covered 
with  the  snows  that  drift  on  all  sides  into  the  cabins 
of  the  Savages;  where  vermin  abound;  where  the 
senses,  each  and  all,  are  [60]  tormented  both  night 
and  day.  One  never  has  anything  but  water  to 
quench  his  thirst ;  while  the  best  food  usually  eaten 
there  is  only  a  paste  made  with  meal  of  Indian  corn 
boiled  in  water.  One  must  work  there  incessantly, 
though  always  so  poorly  nourished ;  never  have  one 
moment  in  the  day  in  which  to  retire  to  any  spot 
that  is  not  public;  have  no  other  room,  no  other 
apartment,  no  other  closet,  in  which  to  prosecute  his 
studies.  One  has  not  even  any  other  light  than  that 
of  a  smoky  fire, — surrounded,  at  the  same  time,  by 
ten  or  fifteen  persons,  and  children  of  all  ages,  who 
scream,  weep,  and  wrangle;  who  are  busied  about 
their  cooking,  their  meals,  their  work,  about  every- 
thing, in  a  word,  that  is  done  in  a  house.  When 
God,  besides  all  this,  withdraws  his  sensible  graces, 
and  hides  himself  from  a  person  who  longs  only  for 
him, — when  he  leaves  him  a  prey  to  sorrow,  to  dis- 
gusts,|iand  repugnances  of  Nature, — these  are  trials 


r 


't.) 


I 


t  ! 


164 


LES  RELATIONS  DES  jf'.SUITES  [Vol.  85 


I' b9I?  I 


dans  lefquels  on  fe  trouue  k  chaque  moment,  d'eltre 
attaqu^  d'vn  Ennemy  barbare,  qui  fouuent  vous  fera 
fouffrir  mille  morts,  auant  que  d'en  mourir  d'vne 
feule;  qai  n'a  que  des  fe^ix  &  des  flammes,  &  des 
cruautez  inouyes.  Sans  doute  qu'il  faut  vn  courage 
digne  des  enfans  de  Dieu,  pour  ne  pas  perdre  coeur 
au  milieu  de  c^t  abandon. 

C'k  eft6  dans  c6t  abandon  que  Dieu  a  voulu  efprou- 
tier  les  cinq  &  fix  ann^es,  la  fidelity  de  ce  bon  Pere, 
Mais  tant  s'en  faut  que  le  Diable  ayt  iamais  rien 
gaign6  fur  luy,  de  ce  cofte  Ik;  quoy  qu'il  luy  repre- 
f entail  chaque  iour,  Que  retournant  en  France,  il  y 
trouuerroit  &  la  ioye,  &  le  repos,  &  les  confolations 
qu'il  y  auoit  receues,  tout  le  temps  paffe  de  fa  vie : 
qu'il  n'y  manqueroit  pas  d'employ  plus  fortable  ^  fon 
naturel,  &  dans  lequel  tant  d'ames  Saintes  pratiquent 
hautement  la  vertn  de  Charite,  dans  le  zele  -ies  Ames, 
&  confomment  leur  vie  pour  le  falut  de  leur  prochain. 
Iamais  pour  tout  cela,  il  n'a  voulu  fe  detacher  Je  la 
Croix  oil  Dieu  I'auoit  mis;  iamais  [62]  il  n'a  demand^ 
d'en  fortir.  Mais  au  contraire,  pour  s'y  attacher  plus 
inuiolablement,  il  s'obligea  par  voeu  d'y  demeurer 
iufques  a  la  mort,  afin  de  mourir  en  la  Croix.  Voicy 
la  teneur  du  voeu  qu'il  en  congeut;  &  ces  propres 
termes. 

Dominc  Icfu  Chrijlc,  qui  me  Apojioloriim  San6}orum, 
huius  vincce  Huronicce  adiutorcni,  licet  indigni/sijnum, 
admirabili  dispofitione  tuce  paterncB  Proiiidentia  voluijii. 
Ego,  Natalis  Chabanel,  inipuifus  defiderio  feruiendi 
Spiritui  tuo  fando,  in  proinouendd  barbarorum  Huronice, 
ad  tuam  fidefn  coniierjione:  Voueo,  coram  fan£lifsimo 
Sacramento  pretiofi  Corporis  &  Sanguinis  tni,  Tabernaculo 
Dei    cum    hominibus,    pcrpetuam    Jlabilitatem     in    hue 


\n 


165C' 


HELA  TION  OF  ib4g-5o 


156 


that  are  not  within  the  compass  of  ordinary  virtue ; 
and  the  love  of  God  must  be  strong  [6i]  in  a  heart, 
if  it  is  not  to  be  stifled  by  them.  Join  to  these  the 
continual  sight  of  dangers,  in  which  one  finds  him- 
self at  every  moment,  of  attack  by  a  savage  Enemy 
who  often  will  subject  you  to  the  sufferings  of  a 
thousand  deaths,  ere  death  itself  ensues ;  who  uses 
only  fire,  and  flames,  and  unheard-of  cruelties. 
Doubtless  a  courage  is  needed  worthy  of  the  children 
of  God,  if  one  is  not  to  lose  heart  in  the  midst  of 
such  abandonment. 

It  lias  been  in  this  abandonment  that  God  has 
willed  to  put  to  the  test,  for  five  or  six  years,  the 
fidelity  of  this  good  Father;  but  assuredly  the  Devil 
never  having  got  the  better  of  him  upon  that 
account,  although  he  represented  to  him  every  day 
that,  by  returning  to  France,  he  would  find  there  the 
joy,  repose,  and  comfort  which  during  all  his  past 
life  he  had  received ;  that  there  he  would  not  lack 
employment  better  suited  to  his  disposition,  employ- 
ment in  which  so  many  Saintly  souls  nobly  practice 
the  virtue  of  Charity  in  a  zeal  for  Souls,  and  expend 
their  lives  for  the  salvation  of  their  fellow-men. 
Never,  for  all  that,  would  he  break  away  from  the 
Cross  on  which  God  had  placed  him ;  never  [62]  did 
he  ask  that  he  might  come  down  from  it.  On  the 
contrary,  in  order  to  bind  himself  to  it  more  invio- 
lably, he  obliged  himself,  by  a  vow,  to  remain  there 
till  death,  so  that  he  might  die  upon  the  Cross. 
These  are  the  terms  of  the  vow,  as  he  conceived  it, 
and  its  very  words : 

Domme  Jesu  Christe,  qui  me  Apostolorwm  Sanctorum 
hujus  vinecB  Hurodicce  adjutorem,  licet  indignissimum, 
adniirabili  dispositione  tuce  paternce  Providentice  voluisti: 


■^■\ 


11  : 


t»l 


ii 


;  i 


'(■ 


IM 


/  ES  RELA  T/ONS  DES  Jl^SUITES         [Vol.  35 


f. 


I 


Mijlione  Huronicd:  omnia  intclligendo  iuxta  Societatis, 
&  Superiorum  eius  interpretationem^  &  difpofitionem. 
Obfecro  te  igitur,  fufcipe  me  in  feruum  huitis  Mifsionis 
perpetuum,  &  dignum  effice  tain  excelfo  minijlerio,  Amen. 
Vigefimd  die  lunij  1647. 

lefus-Chrift  mon  Sauu'^-'ir,  qui  par  vne  difpofition 
admirable  de  voilire  Patemelle  Prouidence,  auez  voulu 
que  ie  fuffe  Coadjuteur  des  Saindls  Apoftres  de  cette 
vigne  des  Hurons,  quoy  que  i'en  fois  tout  h.  faidt 
indigne:  Me  fentant  [65  i.e.,  63]  poufs6  du  defir,  de 
feruir  aux  intentions  qu'a  fur  moy  voftre  faindt 
Efprit,  pour  auancer  la  conuerfion  h,  la  foy,  des  bar- 
bares  de  ce  pais  des  Hurons ;  Moy,  Noel  Chabanel, 
eftant  en  la  prefence  du  tres-faindt  Sacrement,  de 
voftre  Corps  &  de  voftre  Sang  precieux,  qui  eft  le 
tabernacle  de  Dieu  auec  les  hommes :  Ie  fais  voeu  de 
perpetuelle  ftabilit^  en  cette  Miffion  des  Hurons/ 
entendant  le  tout,  felon  1' interpretation  des  Supe- 
rieurs  de  la  Compagnie,  &  felon  qu'ils  voudront 
difpofer  de  moy.  Ie  vous  coniure  done,  mon  Sau- 
ueur,  qu'il  vous  plaife  me  receuoir  pour  feruiteur 
perpetuel  de  cette  MilTion,  &  que  vous  me  rendiez 
digne  d'vn  miniftere  fi  fublime.     Amen. 

II  fit  ce  voeu  le  iour  du  tres- Saint  Sacrement,  de 
Tannic  1647.  &  quoy  que  du  depuis  ces  reuoltes  de  la 
Nature  ayent  toufiours  donne  de  I'exercice  ^  fa  vertu; 
la  grace  a  toufiours  eft^  la  maiftreile,  &  Dieu  luy  a 
donn^  cette  perfeuerance,  qu'il  defiroit  fi  ardemment. 

La  derniere  fois  qu'il  fe  fepara  d'auec  nous,  pour 
aller  en  la  Miflion  oti  il  eft  mort ;  embrafl!ant,  &  difant 
le  dernier  [64]  adieu,  k  celuy  de  nos  Peres,  qui  auoit 
le  f oin  de  la  conduite  de  fon  ame ;  Mon  cher  Pere, 
luy  dit-il,  que  ce  foit  tout  de  bon  cette  fois,  que  ie 


Hi/ 


il  ' 


!l  ■ 


li 


1650] 


RELA  TION  OF  i64g-5o 


157 


Ego,  Natalis  Chabanel,  impulsus  desiderio  serviendi 
Spiritui  tuo  sancto,  in  promovendd  barbaroruni  Huronice, 
ad  tuam  fidem  conversione ;  Voveo,  coram  sanctissinto  Sa- 
cramento pretiosi  Corporis  et  Sanguinis  tui,  Tabernaculo 
Dei  cum  hominibus,  perpctuam  stabilitatem  in  hac  Missione 
Huronicd:  omnia  intclligendo  juxta  Societatis,  et  Superi- 
ortim  ejus  interprctationem,  et  dispositionem,  Obsecro  te 
igitur,  suscipe  me  in  serviim  hujus  Missionis  perpetuum,  et 
dignum  effice  tam  excelso  minis terio,  Amen.  Vigesimd 
die  Junii,  1647. 

"  Jesus  Christ,  my  Savior,  who  by  a  wonderful 
dispensation  of  your  Paternal  Providence  have  willed 
that  I,  though  altogether  unworthy,  should  be  a 
Coadjutor  of  the  Holy  Apostles  in  this  vineyard  of 
the  Hurons;  impelled  [65  i.e.,  63]  by  the  desire  of 
ministering  to  the  purpose  which  your  holy  Spirit 
hath  respecting  me,  that  I  should  help  forward  the 
conversion  to  the  faith  of  the  barbarians  of  this 
Huron  country :  I,  Noel  Chabanel, — being  in  the  pres- 
ence of  the  most  holy  Sacrament  of  your  Body  and 
your  precious  Blood,  which  is  the  tabernacle  of  God 
among  men, —  make  avow  of  perpetual  stability  in 
this  Mission  of  the  Hurons ;  understanding  all  things 
as  the  Superiors  of  the  Society  expound  them,  and 
as  they  choose  to  dispose  of  me,  I  conjure  you, 
therefore,  O  my  Savior,  to  be  pleased  to  receive 
me  as  a  perpetual  servant  of  this  Mission,  and  to 
make  me  worthy  of  so  lofty  a  ministry.     Amen." 

He  made  this  vow  on  the  feast  of  Corpus  Christi, 
in  the  year  1647;  and  although,  since  that  time, 
these  rebellions  of  Nature  have  constantly  tasked  his 
virtue,  grace  has  always  been  the  mistress;  and  God 
has  granted  him  the  perseverance  he  so  ardently 
desired. 


II 


:l* 


\ 


j::!^ : 


If 


168 


LES  RELATIONS  DES  j£SUITES        [Vol.  35 


me  donne  h.  Dieu,  &  que  ie  luy  appartienne.  Mais 
il  profera  ces  paroles  d'vn  fi  bon  accent,  &  d'vn  vifage 
fi  refolu  k  la  vraye  faintet6,  qu'il  toucha  viuement 
celuy  de  nos  Peres  auquel  il  parloit;  lequel  ayant 
trouu^  k  I'heure  mefme,  vn  de  fes  amys,  ne  put 
s'empefcher  de  luy  dire;  Vrayement  ie  viens  d'eftre 
touch^!  Ce  bon  Pare  vie nt  de  me  parler  auec  I'oeil 
&  la  voix  d'vne  vidlime  qui  s'immole:  Ie  ne  f9ay  pas 
ce  que  Dieu  veut  faire,  mais  ie  voy  qu'il  fait  vn  grand 
Saint. 

En  cffet,  Dieu  Ie  difpofoit  au  facrifice;  &  il  luy 
donnoit  k  luy-mefme,  quelque  forte  de  prefentiment. 
II  auoit  dit  a  vn  de  fes  amys;  Ie  ne  f^ay  ce  qu'il  y  a 
en  moy,  &  ce  que  Dieu  veut  difpofer  de  moy :  mais 
ie  me  fens  tout  change  en  vn  point.  Ie  fuis  fort 
apprehenfif  de  mon  naturel;  toutefois  maintenant 
que  ie  vay  au  plus  grand  danger,  &  qu'il  me  femble 
que  la  mort  n'eft  pas  efloign^e,  ie  ne  fens  plus  de 
crainte.     Cette  difpofition  ne  vient  pas  de  moy. 

[65]  Lors  qu'il  partit  de  la  MilTion  de  faindt  Mathias, 
Ie  iour  mefme  de  fa  mort,  parlant  au  Pere  qui  I'em- 
braffoit.  Ie  vay,  dit-il,  ou  I'obei'ffance  merappelle: 
mais  ou  ie  ne  pourray  [obtenir],  ou  i'obtiendray  du 
Superieur,  qu'il  me  renuoye  dans  la  Miffion  qui  eftoit 
mon  partage,  il  faut  feruir  Dieu  iufqu'k  la  mort. 

On  verra  dans  la  lettre  fuiuante,  qu'il  a  efcrit  au 
R.  P  Pierre  Chabanel  fon  frere  Religieux  de  noftre 
Compagnie,  les  fentimens  qu'il  auoit  des  fouffrances. 
Peu  s'en  eft  fallu,  dit-il,  dans  les  apparences  humaines, 
que  V.  R.  n'ait  eu  vn  frere  Martyr:  mais  helas!  il 
faut  deuant  Dieu,  vne  vertu  d'vne  autre  trempe  que 
la  mienne  pour  meriter  I'honneur  du  Martyre:  Le 
R.  P.  Gabriel  Lallemant  I'vn  des   trois   que    noftre 


»t' 


r 


1650] 


RELA  TION  OF  1649-50 


159 


The  last  time  that  he  parted  from  us,  to  go  to  the 
Mission  where  he  died, —  embracing  and  bidding  the 
last  [64]  farewell  to  that  one  of  our  Fathers  who  was 
charged  with  the  direction  of  his  soul, —  he  said  to 
him:  "  My  dear  Father,  may  it  be  for  good  and  all, 
this  time,  that  I  give  myself  to  God;  and  may  I 
belong  to  him."  But  he  uttered  these  words  with  so 
strong  an  emphasis,  and  a  countenance  so  bent  upon 
true  sanctity,  as  sensibly  to  affect  the  Father  to  whom 
he  was  speaking,  and  who,  chancing  at  that  very 
hour  to  meet  one  of  his  friends,  could  not  refrain 
from  saying  to  him:  "  Verily,  I  have  just  been  deep- 
ly moved !  That  good  Father  has  but  now  spoken  to 
me  with  the  look  and  voice  of  a  victim  who  immo- 
lates himself.  I  know  not  what  God  wills,  but  I  see 
that  he  is  fashioning  a  great  Saint." 

In  truth,  God  was  preparing  him  for  the  sacrifice, 
and  affording  him  some  kind  of  presentiment  of  it. 
He  had  said  to  one  of  his  friends :  "  I  do  not  know 
what  is  working  within  me,  or  what  God  wills  to  do 
with  me;  but,  in  one  respect,  I  feel  entirely  changed. 
I  am  naturally  very  timorous ;  but,  now  that  I  am 
going  to  a  most  dangerous  post,  and,  as  it  seems  to 
me,  death  is  not  very  far  away,  I  no  longer  feel  any 
fear.     This  frame  of  mind  springs  not  from  myself." 

[65]  When  he  set  out  from  the  Mission  of  saint 
Mathias,  on  the  very  day  of  his  death,  he  said,  speak- 
ing to  the  Father,  who  was  embracing  him :  "  I  am 
going  whither  obedience  calls  me;  but  whether  I 
shall  succeed  or  not  in  obtaining  from  the  Superior 
that  he  send  me  back  to  the  Mission  that  was  allotted 
to  me,  God  must  be  served  until  death." 

We  shall  see  in  the  following  letter, —  which  he 
wrote  to  the  Reverend  Father  Pierre  Chabanel,  his 


111 

il, 


m 


\,\ 


\^ 


'  \ 


I 

)■ 


TTF- 


160 


LES  RELATIONS  DES  J&SUITES         [Vol.  35 


W 


\ 


Relation  dit  auoir  fouffert  pour  lefus-Chrift,  auoit  pris 
ma  place  au  bourg  de  fainc5l  Louys  depuis  vn  mois 
deuant  fa  mort,  que  ie  fus  enuoi^  comme  plus  robufte 
de  corps  en  vne  Miffion  plus  eloign^e  &  plus  labo- 
rieufe:  mais  non  pas  fi  fertile  en  Palmes  &  en 
Couronnes  que  celles  \sc.  celle]  dont  ma  lachet6 
m'auoit  rendu  indigne  deuant  Dieu.  Ce  fera  quand 
il  plaira  "k  la  [66]  diuine  Bont6  pourueu  que  de  mon 
coft6  ie  tache  de  faire,  Martyrem  in  vmbrd  &  Martyrium 
fine  /anguine.  Les  rauages  des  Iroquois  fur  ce  pais 
feront  peut  eflre  vn  iour  Ie  refte  par  les  merites  de 
tant  de  Sainc5ls,  auec  lefquels  i'ay  la  confolation  de 
viure  fi  douce  nent  parmy  tant  de  tracas  &  de  dangers 
continuels  de  la  vie.  La  Relation  me  difpenfera 
d'adioufter  autre  chofe  k  la  prefente,  auffi  bien  n'ay-ie 
ny  papier  ny  loifir  qu'autant  qu'il  en  faut  pour 
fupplier  V.  R.  &  tous  nos  Peres  de  fa  Prouince  de  fe 
fouuenir  de  moy  au  faindt  Autel,  ccmme  d'vne 
vidtime  deftin^e  peut-efkre  au  feu  des  Iroquois,  Vt 
merear  tot  SanSlorum  patrocinio  vi6loriam  in  tain  forti 
certamine:  Ce  font  fes  paroles  dignes  d'vn  homme 
qui  n'attendoit  que  Ie  moment  du  facrifice. 


T 


1650] 


HELA  T/ON  OF  1649 -jo 


161 


brother  Religious  of  our  Society, —  his  appreciation 
of  suffering.  "Judging  from  human  appearances," 
said  he,  "  Your  Reverence  has  been  very  near  to  pos- 
sessing a  brother  a  Martyr;  but  alas!  in  the  mind  of 
God,  to  merit  the  honor  of  Martyrdom,  a  virtue  of 
another  stamp  than  mine  is  needed.  The  Reverend 
Father  Gabriel  Lallemant,  one  of  the  three  whom 
our  Relation  mentions  as  having  suffered  for  Jesus 
Christ,  had  taken,  for  a  month  before  his  death,  my 
place  in  the  village  of  saint  Louys, — while  I,  as  being 
more  robust  of  body,  was  sent  upon  a  Mission  more 
remote  and  more  laborious,  but  not  so  fruitful  in 
Palms  and  Crowns  as  that  of  which  my  cowardice 
has,  in  the  sight  of  God,  rendered  me  unworthy.  It 
will  be  when  it  shall  please  the  [66]  divine  Good- 
ness, provided  that  I  strive  to  realize,  in  my  person, 
Martyrem  in  uvibrd  et  Martyrium  sine  sanguine.  The 
ravages  of  the  Iroquois  throughout  this  country  will 
perhaps,  some  day,  supply  what  is  wanting,  through 
the  merits  of  those  many  Saints  with  whom  I  have 
the  consolation  of  leading  so  peaceful  an  existence 
in  the  midst  of  such  turmoil,  and  continual  danger 
to  life.  The  Relation  will  dispense  me  from  adding 
anything  else  at  present,  as  I  have  neither  paper  nor 
leisure,  save  so  much  as  are  needed  to  entreat  Your 
Reverence,  and  all  our  Fathers  of  your  Province,  to 
remember  me  at  the  holy  Altar  as  a  victim  doomed, 
it  may  be,  to  the  fires  of  the  Iroquois.  Ut  mercar  tot 
Sanctorum  patrocinio  victoriam  in  tarn  forti  certamine. 
These  are  his  words,  worthy  of  a  man  who  was  only 
awaiting  the  moment  of  the  sacrifice. 


II 


;, 


n 


., 


I 


"I 


i 


162 


LES  RELATIONS  DES  jfi.SUITES         [Vol.  35 


^•1 


CHAPITRE  V. 


F 


^! 


DE   LA   MISSION   DE   SAINCT    MATTHIAS. 

C?  ESTOIT  icy  la  feconde  des  Miffions,  que  nous 
auions  dans  la  Nation  du  Petun.  Depuis  la 
mort  les  deux  PP.  dont  [67]  nous  auons  parl4; 
la  neceffit6  d'ouuriers  nous  obligea  de  ne  faire  plus 
qu'vne  Miffion,  dans  toutes  ces  Montagnes,  furchar- 
geant  les  deux  autres  Peres,  qui  y  reftoient,  du  foin 
de  ces  pauures  Eglifes  defol6es,  qui  venoient  de  per- 
dre  leurs  Pafteurs:  &  mefme,  quelque  temps  apres, 
nous  nous  vifmes  contrains  de  ne  laiffer  qu'\  11  feul 
des  deux  Peres,  pour  tout  le  Chriftianifme,  vne 
maladie  furuenue  ^  I'vn  d'eux,  nous  ayant  oblig(S  de 
le  rappeller  en  vn  lieu,  ou  il  puft  receuoir  vn  peu 
plus  d'affiftance. 

Dans  les  grandes  fatigues  de  ces  Miffions,  exposdes 
"k  tons  les  malheurs  dont  la  Nature  pent  auoir  plus 
d'horreur,  ce  n'eft  pas  vne  des  Croix  des  moins 
pefantes,  de  fe  voir  feul,  dans  vne  Eglife  diffip^e, 
qui  ne  faifoit  que  naiftre :  de  fe  voir  accable  d6s  le 
matin  iufqu'au  foir,  d'vn  monde  de  Catechumenes  & 
de  Chreitiens,  dont  il  faut  baptizer  les  vns,  entendre 
les  autres  en  Confeffion,  apprendre  k  la  plus-part  les 
Prieres  &  le  Catechifme,  &  les  Myfheres  de  noftre 
Foy,  folliciter  les  infideles  k  ce  qui  eft  de  leur  falut, 
aller  chercher  &  les  vns  &  les  autres,  dans  des  cabanes 
abandonees,  oti  la  [68]  pauurete  mefme  habite,  mais 
ou  I'efprit  de  la  Foy,  n'y  eit  pas  moins  diuin,  que 


\ 


*> 


1 


1650J 


RELA  TION  OF  1649-50 


168 


CHAPTER  V. 


OF   THE    MISSION   OF   SAINT    MATTHIAS. 


All 


M 


HERE  lay  the  second  Mission  that  we  possessed 
in  the  Tobacco  Nation.  Since  the  death  of 
the  two  Fathers  of  whom  [67]  we  have  spok- 
en, a  scarcity  of  workers  obliged  us  to  maintain  only 
one  Mission  throughout  those  Mountains, —  thereby 
overburdening  the  two  other  Fathers  who  remained 
there  with  the  care  of  the  poor  desolated  Churches 
that  had  so  recently  lost  their  Pastors.  After  a 
time,  we  were  even  constrained  to  leave  one  only  of 
those  two  Fathers  to  carry  on  the  entire  Christian 
work, —  one  of  them  having  been  seized  with  a  mala- 
dy which  obliged  us  to  recall  him  to  quarters  where 
he  could  receive  a  little  more  assistance. 

Among  the  great  hardships  of  these  Missions, 
exposed  to  every  evil  of  which  Nature  has  the  most 
horror,  it  is  not  one  of  the  least  heavy  of  the  Crosses 
to  find  oneself  alone  in  a  Church  which  is  dispersed, 
and  was  born  but  yesterday;  to  find  oneself  over- 
whelmed from  morning  to  night  by  a  crowd  of  Cate- 
chumens and  Christians, —  some  needing  baptism, 
others  Confession,  and,  most  of  them,  instruction  in 
the  Prayers  and  Catechism,  and  the  Mysteries  of  our 
Faith ;  unbelievers  requiring  to  be  awakened  to  the 
concerns  of  their  salvation, — all  to  be  sought  out  in 
the  deserted  cabins,  where  [68]  poverty  itself  resides, 
but  where  the  spirit  of  the  Faith  is  not  less  divine  than 
in  the  Louvres  and  most  superb  Palaces  of  Europe. 


)  i 


I 


ill' 


.    i 


1^ 

> 


J.-      » Jli  i   I 


\it 


IM 


L£S  RELA  TIONS  DES  JI^SUITES         [Vol.  86 


dans  les  Louures  &  dans  les  Palais  les  plus  fuperbes 
de  r Europe. 

Quelques  Capitaines  infideles,  animez  centre  les 
progrcz  de  la  Foy,  &  croyans  qu'ellc  feule  efloit  la 
ruine  des  pais  qui  fe  font  Chreltiens,  firent  courir 
vne  calomnie  contre  nous,  afin  d'irritcr  tout  le  peu- 
ple,  &  I'animer  ^  la  vengeance.  On  affemble  pour 
cette  efTet  les  plus  confiderables  d'vn  bourg,  depen- 
dant de  cette  MifTion,  (c'eftoit  le  bourg  de  faindt 
Mathieu,  dont  nos  Peres  eftoient  alors  abfens:)  On 
public  hautement  dans  ce  confeil  de  fedition,  qu'vn 
certain  Huron  efchapc?  depuis  peu  de  iours,  des  mains 
des  Iroquois  plus  voifins  de  Kebec,  y  auoit  veu  de 
grands  coliers  de  Porceleine,  enuoyez  de  la  part 
d'Onnontio,  (c'eft  le  nom  que  donnent  les  Hurons  k 
Monfieur  noflre  Gouuerneur.)  Que  cet  Onnontio  vou- 
lant  diuertir  les  armes  des  Iroquois,  crainte  qu'ils  ne 
fe  iettaffent  fur  les  Francois  de  Montreal,  des  Trois 
Riuieres,  &  de  Kebec;  auoit  enuoye  ces  prefens,  & 
ces  coliers  de  Porcelene,  das  le  pais  ennemi,  afin  de 
les  inuiter  de  coduire  [69]  vne  armee  dans  le  pais  des 
Hurons;  &  qu  il  leur  auoit  promis,  que  les  Fran9ois 
qui  y  eftoient,  trahiroient  les  Hurons  &  les  Algon- 
quins;  faifans  mine  de  fe  porter  auec  courage,  h.  leur 
deffenfe :  mais  qu'en  efifet  lors  qu'on  feroit  dans  le 
combat,  ils  ne  tueroient  perfonne;  ayans  receu  des 
ordres  fecrets  de  fa  part,  de  ne  charger  leurs  armes 
h.  feu,  fmon  de  poudre  feule,  fans  bale  &  fans  plomb. 

En  fuite  de  cette  calomnie,  on  nous  fait  plus  noirs 
que  nos  robes,  on  crie  aux  traiftres  &  ^  la  trahifon, 
on  ne  parle  que  de  nous  maffacrer,  &  les  boutefeux 
de  cette  fedition,  difent  hautement,  qu'il  faut  affom- 
mer  le  premier  des  Frangois  qu'on  auroit  au  rencontre. 


1660] 


RELA  TION  OF  ibig-so 


165^ 


Some  infidel  Captains,  exasperated  at  the  progress 
the  Faith  was  making,  and  believing  that  it  alone 
caused  the  ruin  of  the  countries  that  are  becoming 
Christianized,  circulated  a  calumny  against  us  in  the 
hope  of  stirring  up  the  natives  and  inciting  them  to 
take  revenge.  For  this  purpose,  the  most  eminent 
among  them  assembled  in  a  village  belonging  to  this 
Mission  (it  was  the  village  of  saint  Mathieu,  from 
which  our  Fathers  were  then  absent) ;  and  in  this 
seditious  council  it  was  boldly  announced  that  a 
certain  Huron,  lately  escaped  from  the  hands  of  the 
Iroquois  nearest  to  Kebec,  had  seen  there  some  large 
Porcelain  collars,  sent  by  Onnontio  (the  name  which 
the  Hurons  give  to  Monsieur  our  Governor).  It  was 
stated  that  <"his  Onnontio, —  wishing  to  turn  aside  the 
weapons  of  the  Iroquois,  fearing  lest  they  should 
make  a  dash  upon  the  French  at  Montreal,  Three 
Rivers,  and  Kebec, —  had  sent  these  presents  and 
these  Porcelain  collars  into  the  enemy's  country,  in 
order  to  induce  them  to  transport  [69]  an  armed 
force  into  the  Huron  territory;  and  that  he  had 
promised  them  that  the  French  who  were  there 
should  betray  the  Hurons  and  the  Algonquins,  by  pre- 
tending to  go  bravely  in  their  defense, —  but  that,  in 
fact,  when  the  fighting  took  place  they  were  to  kill  no 
one,  having  received  from  him  secret  orders  to  load 
their  firearms  with  powder  only,  without  bullet  or  shot. 

In  the  train  of  this  calumny  they  painted  us  blacker 
than  our  robes,  raised  a  cry  of  ' '  Traitors,  and  treach- 
ery !  ' '  and  talked  only  of  massacring  us ;  while  the 
firebrands  of  the  sedition  noisily  declared  that  they 
must  kill  the  first  Frenchman  they  should  meet. 

Indeed,  descrying  from  a  distance  our  two  Mis- 
sionaries,—  who  were  shaping  their  course,  a  very 


^  > 


!.l^ 


i 


1 


166 


LKS  RELATIONS  DES  J  As  UlTES         [Vol..  36 


I         a.  I 


!/ 


) 


En  effet,  nos  deux  Miflionaires,  faifans  leur  coiirfe, 
fort  pen  de  iours  apres,  ^  ce  bourg  de  leur  departe- 
ment,  oti  ce  confeil  s'cltoit  tenu:  de  loin  qu'on  les 
eiit  apperceu,  on  crie,  Au  meurtre  &  au  mafTacre:  on 
court  aux  portes  par  ou  ils  doiuent  entrer :  on  les 
re9oit  auec  des  crys  &  des  htiees,  femblables  k  celies, 
dont  on  accueille  les  prifonniers  de  guerre,  qui  font 
dellinez  pour  le  feu.  Nos  Peres  entrent  h  leur  ordi- 
naire, auec  vn  vifage  [70]  affeurd.  Qui  craint  Dieu, 
ne  craint  pas  les  creatures,  &  ceux  qui  ne  fouhaittent 
que  de  mourir  en  fon  feruice,  ne  palilTent  pas  en  ces 
rencontres  Les  feditieux  s'entre-parlent,  pour  voir 
celuy  qui  leueroit  la  hache,  fur  ces  deux  vidlimes 
innocentes.  Ils  ne  iettent  fur  eux,  que  des  yeux  de 
fureur,  &  leur  coeur  ne  refpire  rien  que  le  fang.  Mais 
Dieu  leur  lia  les  mains  pour  ce  coup.  Ces  deux  bons 
Peres  palTent  k  trauers  cette  foule  d'impies,  fans 
receuoir  aucun  dommage,  Plufieurs  qui  n'efloient 
pas  de  la  coniuration,  mais  qui  n'en  pouuoient  igno- 
rer  les  conclufions,  qu'on  auoit  publides,  fe  difoient 
les  vns  aux  autres:  Ne  font-ce  pas  ceux-cy  que  Ton 
deuoit  maffacrer?  comment  done  ont-ils  trauerse  au 
milieu  de  leurs  ennemis,  prcparez  pour  le  meurtre  ? 
on  eft  forty  k  la  foule,  pour  les  tuer,  &  pas  vn  toutes- 
fois  n'a  fait  le  coup,  que  tant  de  monde  auoit  promis 
de  faire. 

Dieu  ne  fe  contente  pas  de  proteger  nos  Peres  en 
ce  rencontre :  mais  pour  recompenfer  les  fatigues  & 
les  dangers  de  leur  voyage,  en  la  monnoye  dont  il 
paye  les  iournees  de  fes  feruiteurs :  en  vn  feul  iour 
ils  baptizerent  dix-fept  perfonnes  dans  [71]  ce  bourg, 
oh  ils  deuoient  trouuer  la  mort ;  &  ils  y  confeflerent 
quantity  de  Chreftiens. 


1 


1660] 


RE  LA  TION  OF  1649-50 


ler 


3? 


few  days  after,  to  this  village  in  their  district  where 
the  council  was  held, —  there  were  shouts  of  "  Murder 
them!  "  "  Kill  them!  "  Then,  rushing  to  the  gates 
by  which  they  would  enter,  they  greeted  them  with 
cries  and  hootings,  similar  to  those  with  which  they 
receive  prisoners  of  war  who  are  doomed  to  the  flames. 
Our  Fathers  went  in  as  usual,  with  calm  faces; 
[70]  for  they  who  fear  God  have  no  fear  of  his  crea- 
tures, and  they  who  have  no  other  desire  than  to 
die  in  his  service  do  not  quail  in  such  emergencies. 
The  rioters  conferred  together,  to  decide  which  of 
them  should  raise  the  hatchet  against  those  two 
innocent  victims.  They  cast  upon  them  nothing  but 
furious  looks,  and  their  hearts  thirsted  only  for 
blood.  But  God  stayed  their  hands,  for  that  time; 
and  the  two  good  Fathers  passed  through  the  crowd 
of  impious  wretches,  without  receiving  any  hurt. 
Many  who  were  not  in  the  conspiracy,  but  who  could 
not  have  been  ignorant  of  what  had  been  publicly 
determined,  said  one  to  another,  "  Are  not  these 
they  who  were  to  be  massacred?  How,  then,  have 
they  passed  through  the  midst  of  enemies  ready  for 
murder?  These  have  risen  up  from  the  throng  to 
kill  them ;  and  yet  not  one  has  dealt  the  blow  which 
so  many  had  pledged  themselves  to  strike." 

God  did  not  content  himself  with  protecting  our 
Fathers  in  this  danger;  but, —  to  repay  them,  for  the 
hardships  and  dangers  of  their  journey,  in  the  coin 
with  which  he  pays  the  day's  wages  of  his  servants, — 
in  a  single  day  they  baptized  seventeen  persons  in 
[71]  the  very  village  where  they  were  to  meet  their 
death,  besides  confessing  a  number  of  Christians. 

The  village  of  St.  Jean  had  not  as  yet  been  taken 
and  laid  waste  by  the  Iroquois  when  that  sedition 


w 


(: 


) 


i 


t 

II 


w 


\ 


168 


LES  RELATIONS  DES  J&SUITES         [Vol.  35 


f' 


( 


1! 


1 


Le  bourg  de  S.  lean  n'auoit  pas  encore  ell^  pris, 
ny  defol6  par  les  Iroquois,  lors  que  cette  fedition 
arriua:  mais  ce  fut  fort  peu  de  iours  apres.-  &  nous 
auons  fujet  de  croire,  que  la  mort  du  Pere  Noel  Cha- 
banel,  n'a  elt6  qu'vn  effedl  de  cette  coniuration.  Veu 
nommement  que  le  Huron,  fur  lequel  tomba  le  fou- 
p9on  de  raflaffiant,  comis  en  la  perfonne  de  ce  Pere, 
ef loit  du  bourg  de  S  Mathieu ;  &  qu'vne  perfonne  de 
confiance  nous  a  dit,  auoir  entendu  de  fa  bouche; 
qn'il  s'eftoit  vant^  d'eftre  le  meurtrier,  &  d'auoir 
defait  le  monde  de  cette  voirie  de  Frangois,  &  d'auoir 
iett6  dans  la  riuiere  fon  cadavre,  I'ayant  affomm6  k 
fes  pieds  Quoy  qu'il  en  foit,  ce  n'efl  pas  vn  petit 
bon-iieur  pour  ceux  qui  viuent  en  ces  contrdes,  de 
f9auoir  &  de  voir,  que  leur  vie  eft  entre  les  mains  de 
tout  le  monde;  &  qu'ils  doiuent  attendre  la  mort, 
autant  de  la  part  de  ceux  mefmes  qu'ils  reconoiffent 
pour  amis,  que  d'vn  Iroquois  ennemy. 

En  vn  autre  bourg,  dependant  de  cette  mefme 
Miffion,  nos  Peres  y  auoient  erig6  [72]  vne  petite 
Chapelle,  &  ils  y  auoient  efleu6  vn  clocher,  pour  y 
appeller  les  Chreftiens,  &  mettre  dans  ce  nouueau 
Chriftianifme,  les  e.xercices  de  deuotion,  qui  eftoient 
deda  eftablis  dans  les  Eglifes  plus  anciennes.  Les 
intideles  entrent  en  fureur  k  la  veue  de  ces  obiets  de 
piet^;  ils  contrefont  les  pofledez  du  Diable,  s'ils  ne 
le  sot  en  verity ;  ^"Is  rompet  tout,  &  ils  profanet  ce 
lieu  d>.  faincftet^/  ils  d^robent  &  ils  pillent  les  petits 
^neubles  de  cette  pauure  Eglife,  &  tout  ce  qu'auoiet 
les  Peres,  qui  alors  en  eftoiet  abi'ens  ayans  eft6  faire 
leurs  vifites  en  des  bourgades  plus  efloign^es.  On 
porte  come  en  .nomphe  ces  d(ipotiilles  de  la  maifon 
de  Dieu ;  on  vomit  des  imprecations  contre  ceux  qui 


1 


n 


1650] 


RELA  TION  OF  1649-50 


169 


ts 
et 
re 

on 

lui 


occurred,  but  this  ervent  took  place  a  very  few  days 
afterward;  and  we  have  reason  for  believing  that 
the  death  of  Father  Noel  Chabanel  was  simply  an 
outcome  of  the  conspiracy.  Notice  particularly,  that 
the  Huron  upon  whom  fell  the  suspicion  of  murder 
committed  on  the  person  of  that  Father  was  of  the 
village  of  St.  Mathieu;  and  that  a  trustworthy  per- 
son told  us  that  he  had  heard,  from  the  man's  own 
lips,  his  boast  that  he  was  the  murderer ;  that  he  had 
rid  the  world  of  that  common  carrion  of  a  French- 
man, and  had  thrown  his  body  into  the  river,  after 
braining  him  at  his  feet.  Be  that  as  it  may,  it  is  not 
a  small  advantage,  to  those  who  live  in  these  parts, 
to  know  and  see  that  their  lives  are  at  the  mercy  of 
every  one;  and  that  they  may  expect  death  as  much 
at  the  hands  of  those  very  persons  whom  they  recog- 
nize as  friends,  as  from  an  Iroquois  encimy. 

In  another  village,  dependent  on  this  same  Mis- 
sion, our  Fathers  had  built  [72]  a  small  Chapel,  and 
had  erected  a  belfry,  to  summon  Christians  thither, 
and  to  introduce  into  this  new  Christian  field  the  exer- 
cises of  devotion  already  established  in  the  older 
Churches.  The  infidels  became  enraged  at  the  sight 
of  these  objects  of  piety.  They  acted  as  those  who 
are  possessed  of  the  Devil,  if  they  were  not  so  in 
truth.  They  broke  everything  in  pieces;  profaned 
the  holy  place;  plundered  and  stole  the  little  fur- 
nishings of  that  poor  Church,  and  all  the  possessions 
of  the  Fathers,  who  were  at  that  time  absent  on  their 
visitation  rounds  in  some  of  the  more  remote  villages. 
These  spoils  of  the  house  of  God  were  carried  about 
as  if  in  triumph ;  imprecations  were  spit  forth  against 
those  who  preached  his  word;  and  it  was  loudly 
proclaimed  that  they  merited  death. 


A\ 


II: 


'n 


170 


''  ES  RELA  TIONS  DES  JJ^SUITES  [Vol.  35 


II 


\ 


■t 


prefchent  fa  parole,  &  on  public  hautemeut  qu'ils 
meritent  la  mort. 

Ces  infolences  font  airiu^es  plus  d'vne  fois:  mais 
qui  a  Dieu  pour  protedteur,  experimente  mille  fois 
en  vn  feul  Hyuer,  que  le  Diable  peut  bien  entrer  en 
rage  contre  nous,  &  qu'il  a  fujet  de  le  faire,  voyant 
qu'on  luy  enleue  fa  proye;  mais  qu'apres  tout,  Dieu 
eft  le  maiflre,  qu'  /n  feul  cheueu  ne  peut  tomber  de 
la  tefte  de  fes  feruiteurs,  fans  fa  diuine  volont6 ;  & 
[73]  qu6  1^  foy  116  porte  iamais  plus  de  fruits,  que 
lors  qu'elle  eft  dauantage  perfecut^e.  II  falloit  que 
le  nombre  des  Eflus  de  Dieu  fut  accomply  en  toutes 
ces  contr^es,  auant  4ue  leur  defolation  arriuafl  qui 
efloit  n  prochaine. 

Vn  pauure,  mais  excellent  Chreflien  de  cette 
Miffion,  efloit  tomb^  entre  les  mains  des  ennemis,  & 
n'attendoit  rien  que  le  fei  pour  fon  fupplice.  II  efit 
recours  '^  Dieu  dans  faneceffit^.  Mon  Dieu,  dit-il,  ie 
croy  de  tout  mon  coeur,  que  vous  feul  efles  le  maiflre 
de  nos  vies:  fl  vous  voulez,  i'efprouueray  d^sauiour- 
d'huy,  que  ma  foy  n^^'aura  d^liur^  de  la  mort,  qui 
fans  vollre  fecours  m'eft  tout  k  fait  in6uitable. 
Chofe  eftrange!  ce  pauure  homme  fut  d61iur6  k 
I'heure  mefm*^  de  fa  captiuit6,  I'lroquois  qui  vencit 
de  le  prendre  captif,  I'ayant  renuoy6,  fans  fc^auoir 
pourquoy.     Ce  Chreflien  fe  nomme  Pierre  Outour6. 


1650] 


RELA  TION  OF  1649-50 


171 


These  insults  have  happened  more  than  once ;  but 
he  who  has  God  for  protector  learns,  a  thousand 
times  over  in  a  single  Winter,  that  the  Devil  may 
well  become  enraged  against  us,  and  that  he  has 
reason  to  do  so,  seeing  that  his  prey  is  taken  from 
him;  but  that,  after  all,  God  is  the  master;  that  a 
single  hair  cannot  fall  from  the  head  of  his  servants 
without  the  divine  will;  and  [73]  that  faith  never 
bears  more  fruit  than  when  it  is  most  persecuted. 
It  wap  necessary  that  the  number  of  God's  Elect 
should  be  completed  in  these  parts,  before  the 
desolation  should  come  upon  them  that  was  so  near 
at  hand. 

A  poor  but  excellent  Christian  of  this  Mission  had 
fallen  into  the  hands  of  enemies,  and  expected  noth- 
ing less  than  the  fire  for  his  torture.  In  his  necessity 
he  had  recourse  to  God.  "  My  God,"  he  said,  "  I 
believe  with  all  my  heart  that  you  alone  are  master 
of  our  lives;  if  you  choose.  I  shall  be  able  to  prove 
from  to-day  that  my  faith  will  have  delivered  me 
from  the  death  which,  without  your  succor,  I  can 
in  no  way  escape."  Strange  circumstance!  That 
poor  man,  at  that  very  hour,  was  delivered  from  his 
captivity, —  the  Iroquois  who  had  just  taken  him 
prisoner  having  suffered  him,  without  knowing  why, 
to  go  at  large.  This  Christian  was  called  Pierre 
Outourd. 


■ill 


^ 


%\ 


(■1 


172 


LES  RELATIONS  DES  J&SUITES  [Vol.  35 


CHAPITRE  VI. 


DE   LA    MISSION   DE    SAINCT   CHARLES. 


\ 


QVELQUES  Hurons,  de  ceux  qui  I'an  pafs6,  crai- 
gnans  le  feu  des  Iroquois,  [74]  auoient  quitt6 
leur  pais,  &  s'efloignoient  de  nous,  pour  fui'r 
encore  plus  loin,  ce  cruel  ennemy :  eflans  arriuez  en 
vn  lieu  qu'ils  iugerent  alTez  propre  pour  s'y  habituer, 
s'y  arrefterent  &  y  baftirent  leurs  cabanes,  k  deflein 
de  s'y  fortifier,  &  d'y  faire  vn  nouueau  pais.  Deux 
de  nos  Miffionaires,  I'vn  de  langue  Algonquine,  & 
I'autre  qui  parle  Huron,  ayans  parcouru  tout  1  Eft^, 
les  coftes  de  noflre  mer  douce,  pour  le  fecours  fpiri- 
tuel,  tanl  des  Hurons,  qui  alors  y  eftoient  difperfez, 
que  des  peuples  Algonquins,  nous  reprefenteret  k 
leur  retour,  qu'il  feroit  k  la  gloire  de  Dieu,  que  quel- 
qu'vn  de  nous  hyuernaft  en  ce  lieu,  ou  plus  de  monde 
deuoit  le  raffembler.  Nous  y  deftinafmes  done  vn 
de  nos  Peres,  de  la  langue  Hurone,  qui  nous  quitta 
au  mois  d'Oc5lobre. 

Lors  qu'il  fut  arriu6  en  cette  nouuelle  habitation, 
quelques  Chreftiens  le  receurent  chez  eux,  auec  vne 
charit€  qui  n'eut  rien  de  fauuage.  La  premiere  chofe 
qu'ils  firent,  fut  de  dreffer  de  quelques  dcorces 
d'arbres,  vne  Chapelle,  riche  dans  fa  pauuret^,  oii 
depuis  le  matin  iufqu'au  fcir,  Dieu  ne  laiiloit  pas 
d'eftre  ador^,  au  milieu  de  ces  vaftes  forefts,  oii 
iamais  il  n'auoit  receu  c6t  hommage. 

[75]    Plufleurs  qui    n'eftoient   pas    Chrefliens,    fe 


J5 


1650] 


RELA  TION  OF  1649-50 


178 


CHAPTER  VI. 


OF   THE    MISSION   OF   SAINT   CHARLES. 


rai- 
itt6 
fuir 
z  en 
uer, 
ffein 
Deux 
e,  & 

fpiri- 

grfez, 

iret  ^ 
quel- 

nonde 
nc  vn 
quitta 

:ation, 
|ec  vne 
chofe 
icorces 

)it  pas 
Ids,  o^ 


ms, 


fe 


CERTAIN  Hurons, — among  those  who,  last 
year,  fearing  the  fires  of  the  Iroquois,  [74] 
had  left  their  country  and  gone  away  far 
from  us,  that  they  might  withdraw  still  farther  from 
the  cruel  enemy, —  having  come  to  a  place  which 
they  deemed  sufficiently  adapted  to  residence,  set- 
tled down  there  and  built  their  cabins,  purposing  to 
fortify  themselves,  and  to  make  of  it  a  new  country. 
Two  of  our  Missionaries, — one  of  whom  spoke  the 
Algonquin  language,  the  other  the  Huron, — having 
coasted  all  Summer  along  the  shores  of  our  fresh- 
water sea  to  minister  to  the  spiritual  needs  of  both 
the  Hurons  who  at  that  time  were  scattered  there, 
and  the  Algonquin  peoples,  represented  to  us  on  their 
return  that  it  would  be  to  God's  glory  if  some  of  us 
were  to  winter  in  that  locality,  where  a  yet  larger  num- 
ber of  people  were  to  draw  together.  We  accordingly 
assigned  to  them  one  of  our  Fathers,  proficient  in  the 
Huron  language,  who  lef  ^  us  in  the  month  of  October. 
Arriving  at  the  new  settlement,  some  Christians 
received  him  iuco  their  homes  with  a  charity  not 
natural  to  the  savage.  The  first  thing  they  did  was 
to  build,  with  the  bark  of  trees,  a  Chapel,  opulent 
in  its  very  poverty,  in  which,  from  morning  to  even- 
ing, God  ceased  not  to  be  adored,  in  the  midst  of 
those  vast  forests,  where  never  before  had  he  received 
such  homage. 


1 


1  I 


174 


LES  RELATIONS  DES  J&SUITES         [Vol.  36 


V  » 


1 1! 

f 


!    I 


/ 


rendirent  auffi-tofh  aux  inflrudlions  qu'on  leur  donna. 
Quelques  autres  accufoient  la  Foy,  d'eftre  vne  chofe 
mauuaife,  &  ne  vouloient  pas  y  entedre :  difans  que 
iamais  leur  pais  n'auoit  eft6  fi  afflige,  que  lors  qu'on 
auoit  comenc6  tout  de  bon,  k  quitter  leurs  ancienes 
fuperflitios,  &  k  receuoir  le  Baptefme.  Ces  ges-lk 
eftoiet  les  plus  riches,  &  les  plus  k  leur  aife,  il  falloit 
que  Dieu  les  humiliait,  pour  les  fauuer. 

En  effedl,  come  ils  n'auoiet  quafi  aucune  prouifion 
de  bled,  &  que  le  plus  fort  de  leur  efperace  eitoit 
fur  la  p^che,  qui  toutes  les  ann6es  eft  tres-abondante 
en  ce  lieu  Ih,  pendant  I'Hyuer;  iamais  elle  ne  s'y  eft 
veue  fi  malheureufe  que  celle-cy.  lis  font  des  trous 
dans  la  glace,  efpaifCe  de  deux  r  de  trois  pieds:  au 
deffous  de  laquelle  ayans  trouue  I'eau  viue,  ils  iettent 
leurs  rets,  oil  d' ordinaire  on  puife  quantity  de  poiffon, 
qui  accourt  k  ces  ouuertures,  Mais  c6t  Hyuer  ils  ne 
trouuoient  das  leurs  filets  aucun  poiffon,  dix  ou  douze 
petits  haracs,  qui  quelquefois  s'y  rencontroient,  eftoit 
vne  manne  du  Ciel,  k  ces  pauures  gens,  qui  mouroient 
de  faim.  Ils  fe  viret  bien-toft  au  bout  de  leurs  petites 
\y(i\  prouifions;  fans  bled,  fans  gland,  &  fans  legu- 
mes. D'aucuns  alloient  peler  les  arbres,  &  faifoicnt 
boiiillir  les  efcorces,  pour  les  rendre  mangeables: 
d'autres  viuoient  d'vne  certaine  mouffe,  qui  f'attache 
aux  rochers,  &  d'vne  efpece  de  tondre,  qui  pourry 
dedans  I'eau,  s'humec^e,  &  fe  renfle  comme  vne 
sponge.  Vne  fois  chaque  iour,  on  faifoit  cuire  das 
vne  grade  chaudiere,  vn  petit  morceau  de  poiffon 
enfum^,  qui  rendoit  vn  boiiillo  amer,  dont  vn  chacun 
beuuoit  abondamment,  afin  de  fe  remplir,  &  d'eftouf- 
fer  fa  faim  par  ces  lauaces  d'eau. 

Ce  bon  Pere,  fe  vit  enfin  reduit  k  cette  vie,  I'efpace 


I,.  35 

nna. 
hofe 
que 
[u'on 
lenes 

alloit 

iiifion 
eiloit 
dante 
j'y  eft 
,  trous 
is:  au 
iettent 
oiffon, 

•  ils  ne 
I  douze 

•  eftoit 
Liroient 
petites 

legu- 
lifoicnt 
ables : 
ttache 
pourry 
ne    vne 
lire  das 
poiffon 
chacun 
eftouf- 

I'efpace 


1660J 


RELA  TION  OF  164^-50 


m 


[75]  Many,  who  were  not  Christians,  attended  the 
instructions  as  soon  as  they  were  given.  Some 
others  charged  the  Faith  with  being  an  evil  thing, 
and  would  not  listen  to  it, —  affirming  that  their 
country  had  never  been  so  afflicted  as  when  they  had 
commenced  in  earnest  to  abandon  their  old  supersti- 
tions, and  to  receive  Baptism.  These  people  were 
among  the  wealthiest  and  most  comfortably  circum- 
stanced. It  needed,  then,  that  God,  if  he  would 
save  them,  should  bring  down  their  pride. 

Indeed,  while  their  provision  of  corn  was  very 
scanty,  and  although  their  greatest  hope  lay  in  the 
fishing, —  which,  every  year  during  Winter,  is  wont 
to  afford  a  very  plentiful  supply  in  that  locality, — 
never  had  the  latter  turned  out  so  unproductive  as 
in  the  present  season.  Their  custom  is  to  make 
holes  in  ice  two  or  three  feet  thick;  under  these, 
having  come  upon  water,  they  cast  their  nets,  in 
which  are  usually  taken  large  quantities  of  fish, 
vhich  flock  to  these  openings.  But  this  Winter  there 
were  no  fish  to  be  found  in  the  meshes, — ten  cr 
twelve  little  herrings,  which  were  occasionally  en- 
countered, being  as  manna  from  Heaven  to  these  poor 
people,  who  were  perishing  from  hunger.  Quickly 
they  found  themselves  at  the  end  of  their  scanty 
[76]  provisions, —  without  corn,  without  acorns,  and 
without  vegetables.  Some  proceeded  to  strip  the 
trees,  boiling  the  bark  to  render  it  eatable.  Others 
lived  on  a  certain  moss  which  attaches  itself  to 
rocks, ^^  and  on  a  sort  of  punk  which,  being  first 
rotted  in  water,  becomes  absorbent,  and  swells  out 
like  a  sponge.  Once  a  day,  they  cooked,  in  a  large 
kettle,  a  small  morsel  of  smoked  fish,  which  yielded 
a  bitter  soup, — of  which  each  person  drank  freely, 


% 
% 


\ 


j 
$  i 


If 


V 


176 


LES  RELA  TIONS  DES  /^SUITES         [Vol.  35 


)l 


t. 


de  cinquante  iours :  qui  apres  tout  luy  eftoient  des 
iours  bien-heureux;  qui  le  faifoient  benir  Dieu,  voy- 
ant  que  cette  mifere  publique,  abbatoit  la  fuperbe  de 
ceux  qui  du  commencement  n'auoient  pas  voulu 
I'efcouter.  lis  venoient  comme  des  moutons,  & 
demandoient  le  faint  Baptefme/  non  pas  dans  I'at- 
tente  d'aucun  fecours,  qu'ils  pufTent  efperer,  d'vn 
homme  qu'ils  voyoient  dans  la  famine  auffi  bien 
qu'eux:  mais  k  caufe  qu'ils  admiroient  que  fon  cou- 
rage n'en  fufl  pas  abbatu;  qu'il  eftoit  leur  confola- 
tion,  [yy'\  dans  la  veue  qu'il  leur  donnoit  alors,  d'vn 
bon-heur  eternel,  exempt  de  toutes  ces  miferes.  II 
faut  bien,  difoient-ils,  que  ce  qu'il  nous  prefche  foit 
vray,  puis  qu'il  ne  craint  pas  de  mourir  auec  nous, 
&  de  faim,  &  de  froi  "•.;  &  qu'il  nous  en f eigne  le 
mefme  dans  noflre  Pauurete,  qu'il  faifoit  lors  qu'il 
eftoit  plus  ^  fon  aife. 

Sur  la  fin  de  I'Hyuer,  ces  pauures  fameliques,  fe 
voyans  mourir  tous  vifs  dans  ces  miferes,  fe  diffi- 
perent  5k  &  \k.  Vne  partie  vinrent  nous  trouuer  en 
rifle  ou  nous  ellions,  y  efperans  plus  de  fecours.  Le 
Pere  les  y  accompagna ;  &  apres  fix  grandes  iourn6es 
d'vn  chemin  tres-penible,  fur  les  glaces,  de  cette  mer 
alors  glac^e,  il  arriua  heureufement  en  cette  maifon. 

Vn  autre  de  nos  Peres,  qui  auoit  hyuern6  en  la 
Miflion  de  Saint  Pierre,  encore  plus  efloignee,  n'eut 
pas  moins  h.  fouffrir,  dans  les  mefmes  miferes,  qui 
partout  ont  confomm6  ces  peuples,  &  dont  partout 
Dieu  a  tir6  fa  gloire,  difpofant  toutes  ces  ames  pour 
le  Ciel,  par  des  voyes  adorables. 


r  V 


85 

ies 
oy- 
;de 

,    & 
I'at- 

i'vn 

bien 

cou- 

iola- 

d'vn 

5.   n 

e  foit 
nous, 
tie  le 
5  qu'il 

les,  fe 
;  diffi- 
uer  en 
•s.    Le 
urn6es 
:te  mer 
naif  on. 
S  en  la 
i,  n'eiit 
•es,  qui 
partout 
es  pour 


1650] 


RELA  TION  OF  1649  so 


177 


that  he  might  fill  himself,  and  stifle  his  hunger  with 
these  watery  draughts. 

The  good  Father  found  himself  at  last  reduced  to 
this  way  of  living  for  the  space  of  fifty  days,  which, 
after  all,  were,  to  him,  very  happy  days, —  days 
which  caused  him  to  bless  God,  pei -reiving  that  the 
common  misery  was  bringing  down  the  arrogance  of 
those  who,  at  first,  refused  to  listen  to  him.  Now 
they  flocked  to  him  like  sheep,  and  entreated  for 
holy  Baptism, —  not  in  the  expectation  of  any  relief 
they  could  hope  for  f  ""om  a  man  who,  as  they  saw, 
was  famished  like  themselves,  but  because  they 
admired  him,  seeing  that  his  courage  was  not  abated 
by  it;  and  because  he  was  their  consolation,  [yy^  in 
the  prospect  that  he  then  gave  them  of  an  eternal 
happiness,  free  from  all  these  miseries.  ' '  It  must 
indeed  be,"  they  said,  "  that  what  he  preaches  to  us 
is  true;  since  he  fears  not  to  die  with  us  of  hunger 
and  cold,  and  because  he  teaches  us,  in  our  Poverty, 
as  he  taught  us  when  he  had  more  comfort. ' ' 

Toward  the  close  of  the  Winter,  these  famishing 
people,  undergoing  a  living  death  in  these  miseries, 
dispersed  in  various  directions ;  a  part  of  them  set 
out  to  come  to  us  in  the  Island  where  we  were  liv- 
ing, expecting  to  find  there  more  relief.  The  Father 
accompanied  them;  and,  after  a  very  distressing 
journey  of  six  long  days  on  the  ice  of  the  lake,  which 
was  then  frozen,  they  arrived  safely  at  this  house. 

Another  of  our  Fathers,  who  had  wintered  in  the 
still  more  distant  Mission  of  Saint  Pierre,  had  not 
less  to  suffer  while  sharing  the  same  miseries,  which 
everywhere  have  consumed  this  people,  and  from 
which  God  has  everywhere  derived  his  glory  by  pre- 
paring, in  ways  adorable,  all  these  souls  for  Heaven. 


\ 


i 


( 


'    ;? 


178 


LES  RELA  TIONS  DES  JASUITES         [Vol.  35 


r 


n 


11 


[78]  CHAPITRE  VII. 

DE    LA    MISSION    DU    SAINT   ESPRIT. 

CETTE  Miffion  eftoit  pour  les  Nations  de  la 
langue  Algonquine,  qui  n'ont  point  de  demeure 
afleurde,  auffi  peu  que  les  poiffons,  de  la 
pefche  defquels  ils  viuent,  fur  les  cofles  du  grand 
Lac,  qu'ils  habitent,  tantofl  en  vn  lieu,  &  tantoft  en 
vn  autre,  felon  les  diuerfes  faifons  de  I'ann^e;  ou 
felon  que  les  craintes  des  Iroquois  les  obligent  de 
s'efloigner  plus  loin,  du  peril  qui  les  menace  chaque 
iour.  C'eft  k  dire  que  nos  Peres  qui  ont  eu  le  foin  de 
cette  miffion,  y  ont  men6  vne  vie  errante,  auec  ces 
peuples  errans,  &  ont  eft6  quafi  toufiours  deffus  les 
eaux,  ou  fur  quelques  rochers  affreux,  battus  des 
flots  &  des  tempeftes.  Mais  partout,  Dieu  s'y  eft 
fait  connoiftre;  n'eftant  pas  moins  le  Dieu  des  Mers, 
que  le  Dieu  de  la  terre.  Quantit(^  de  ces  nations 
errantes,  ont  pris  feu  depuis  vn  an  aux  paroles  de 
I'Euangile:  quantity  fe  font  faits  Chreftiens,  &  ont 
receu  le  faint  Baptefme:  mefme  leurs  Capitaines, 
qui  iamais  n'auoient  voulu  fe  faire  inftruire.  Voicy 
ce  que  [79]  m'en  efcriuoitle  Fere  qui  c^t  Hyuer  auoit 
le  foin  de  cette  Miffion.  le  benis  Dieu,  dit  il,  de 
I'affiduite  de  ces  bonnes  gens  k  venir  prier  Dieu: 
i' admire  leur  innocence,  &  le  defintereilement  du 
temporel;  eux  ne  me  demandans  rien;  &  moy  n' ay- 
ant  rien  dequoy  leur  donner. 

Les  barbares  ne  font   pas   fi  barbares    qu'on    les 


.> 


Il 

if 


I 


3S 


1660] 


RELA  T/ON  OF  i64<,-so 


179 


'on    les 


[78]  CHAPTER  VII. 

OF   THE    MISSION   OF   THE    HOLY    GHOST. 

THIS  Mission  was  established  for  the  Nations 
speaking  the  Algonquin  tongue,  who  have  — 
as  little  as  the  fish,  by  taking  which  they  sub- 
sist—  no  certain  abode  along  the  coasts  of  the  great 
Lake,  where  they  dwell  sometimes  in  one  place, 
sometimes  in  another,  conformably  to  the  different 
seasons  of  the  year;  or  according  as  fears  of  the  Iro- 
quois compel  them  to  move  farther  away  from  the 
peril  which  every  day  threatens  them.  This  means 
that  our  Fathers  who  have  had  the  care  of  that  mis- 
sion have  led  a  wandering  life  among  this  wandering 
people,  and  have  lived  almost  always  on  the  water, 
or  on  desolate  rocks  beaten  by  the  waves  and  storms. 
But  everywhere  God  has  made  himself  known  to 
them,  being  no  less  the  God  of  the  Seas  than  the 
God  of  the  land.  Many  of  these  wandering  nations 
took  fire,  a  year  ago,  at  the  words  of  the  Gospel; 
many  have  become  Christians  and  received  holy 
Baptism, —  even  their  Captains,  who  had  never  been 
willing  to  receive  instruction.  The  following  [79] 
was  written  to  me  by  the  Father  who  had  the  care 
of  that  Mission  last  Winter.  "  I  bless  God,"  he 
says,  ' '  for  the  diligence  with  which  these  good  people 
come  to  pray  to  him.  I  admire  their  innocence,  and 
disregard  of  temporal  interests;  they  ask  nothing 
from  me,  and  I  have  not  wherewith  to  give  them." 
The  barbarians  are  not  so  barbarous  as,  in  France, 


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LES  RELATIONS  DES  jtSUITES         [Vol.  S'i- 


croit  en  France,  on  pour  mieux  dire,  il  faut  aduoiier 
que  la  foy  dompte  la  barbarie,  &  qu'elle  donne  vn 
coeur  Chreflien,  ^  des  gens  qui  n'au'^ient  que  des 
coeurs  de  befle. 

II  eftoit  temps  que  Dieu  leur  donnaft  c6t  efprit  de 
foy :  car  le  Printemps  eflant  venu,  les  Iroquois  party s 
de  deux  cents  lieuSs  de  1^,  furprirent  vne  partie  de 
ces  bons  Neophytes,  dans  le  lieu  qu'ils  eflimoient  le 
plus  affeur^  pour  leur  vie.  lis  entraifnerent  dans  la 
Captiuit^,  hommes,  femmes,  &  enfans;  fans  pardon- 
ner  k  c6t  aage  innocent,  qu'ils  brufloient  au  milieu 
des  flammes,  auec  des  cruautes  inconceuables.  Les 
voyes  de  Dieu  font  adorables :  il  laiffe  profperer  les 
ennemis  de  fon  faint  Nom;  en  mefme  teps  qu'il 
abandonne  "k  toutes  les  miferes,  ceux  qui  commencent 
k  r adorer.     Qu'il  en  foit  beny  k  iamais. 


il 


I 


1660] 


RELA  TION  OF  i64g-so 


181 


they  believe  them  to  be ;  or,  to  put  it  better,  it  must 
be  admitted  that  the  faith  subdues  barbarity,  and 
gives  Christian  hearts  to  people  who  naturally 
possess  only  the  hearts  of  beasts. 

It  was  time  that  God  should  give  to  them  the  spirit 
of  faith;  for,  when  Springtime  came,  bands  of 
Iroquois,  coming  from  a  distance  of  two  hundred 
leagues,  surprised  a  party  of  these  good  Neophytes 
in  a  place  where  they  deemed  their  lives  perfectly 
secure;  dragged  them  into  Captivity,  men,  women, 
and  children, —  not  sparing  even  the  young,  but 
committing  them  to  the  flames  with  a  cruelty  beyond 
conception.  The  ways  of  God  are  adorable.  He 
suffers  the  enemies  of  his  holy  Name  to  prosper,  at 
the  same  time  that  he  abandons  to  every  kind  of 
misery  those  who  are  but  just  learning  to  worship 
him.     May  he  be  forever  blessed. 


'.' 


] 


if 


182 


LES  RELATIONS  DES  J&SUITES         [Vol.  36 


[80]  CHAPITRE  VIII. 

DE  LA    D    SOLATION    DU    PA!S   DES   HURONS,    AU    PRIN- 
TEMPS  DE  L'ANN^E  1650. 

NOUS  anions paff6  tontl'Hyuer,  dans  lesextremi- 
tez  d'vne  famine  qui  a  regn4  par  toutes  ces 
c6tr6es,  &  qui  partout  a  enleu^  vn  tres-grand 
nombre  de  Chreftiens,  continuant  toufiours  fes  raua- 
ges,  &  iettant  le  defefpoir  partout,  La  faim  eft  vn 
tyran  inexorable,  qui  iamais  ne  dit  c'eft  affez,  qui 
iamais  ne  donne  de  treue;  qui  deuore  tout  ce  qu'on 
luy  donne ;  &  fi  on  manque  k  le  payer,  il  fe  repaift 
du  fang  humain,  il  vous  d^chire  les  entrailles,  fans 
qu'on  puifle  euiter  fa  rage,  ny  fe  fouftraire  de  fa 
veue,  tout  aueugle  qu'il  eft.  Mais  le  Printeps  eftant 
venu,  les  Iroquois  nous  f urent  encore  plus  cruels ;  & 
ce  font  eux  qui  vrayement  ont  ruin^  toutes  nos 
efperances,  &  qui  ont  fait  vn  lieu  d'horreur,  vne  terre 
de  fang  &  de  carnage,  vn  theatre  de  cruaut^,  &  vn 
fepulchre  de  carcaffes  d^charndes  par  les  langueurs 
d'vne  longue  famine,  d'vn  pais  de  benedidtion,  d'vne 
terre  de  Saintet^,  &  d'vn  lieu  qui  n'auoit  plus  rien  de 
baibare,  depuis  que  le  fang  [81]  refpandu  pour  fon 
amour  auoit  rendu  tout  foi.  peuple  Chreftien. 

Nos  pauures  Hurons  affamez  furent  contraints  de 
fe  feparer  d'auec  nous,  au  commencement  du  mois 
de  Mars,  pour  atler  chercher  quelque  gland  au  fom- 
metdesmontagnes  qui  fe  d^couuroient  de  leurs  neges ; 
ou  pour  aller  k  quelques  pefches,  en  des  lieux  plus 


1650] 


RELA  TION  OF  1649-30 


183 


i  \ 


N 


[80]  CHAPTER  VIII. 


OF     THE     DEVASTATION     OF     THE     COUNTRY    OF    THE 
HURONS,  IN   THE   SPRING   OF   THE   YEAR    1650. 

WE  had  passed  all  the  Winter  in  the  extremities 
of  a  famine  which  prevailed  over  all  these 
regions,  and  everywhere  carried  off  large 
numbers  of  Christians,  never  ceasing  to  extend  its 
ravages,  and  casting  despair  on  every  side.  Hun- 
ger is  an  inexorable  tyrant, —  one  who  never  says, 
"It  is  enough ; ' '  who  never  grants  a  truce ;  who 
devours  all  that  is  given  him ;  and,  should  we  fail  to 
pay  him,  repays  himself  in  human  blood,  and  rends 
our  bowels, — ourselves  without  the  power  to  escape 
his  rage,  or  to  flee  from  his  sight,  all  blind  though 
he  be.  But,  when  the  Spring  came,  the  Iroquois 
were  still  more  cruel  to  us,  and  it  is  they  who  have 
indeed  blasted  all  our  hopes.  It  is  they  who  have 
transformed  into  an  abode  of  horror  —  into  a  land  of 
blood  and  carnage,  into  a  theater  of  cruelty,  and  into 
a  sepulchre  of  bodies  stripped  of  their  flesh  by  the 
exhaustions  of  a  long  famine  —  a  country  of  plenty, 
a  land  of  Holiness,  a  place  no  longer  barbarous,  since 
the  blood  [81]  shed  for  love  of  it  had  made  all  its 
people  Christians. 

Our  poor  famished  Hurons  were  compelled  to  part 
from  us  at  the  commencement  of  the  month  of  March, 
to  go  in  search  of  acorns  on  the  summits  of  the 
mountains,  which  were  divesting  themselves  of  their 


U' 


iJ' 


f ! 


¥ 


184 


LES  RELA  TIONS  DES  J&SUITES  [Vol.  36 


*" 


I 

1 


)1 


expofez  au  Soleil  du  Midy,  ou  les  glaces  fe  fondet 
pluftoft.  lis  efperoient  en  ces  lieux  efcartez,  de 
trouuer  quelque  petit  foulagement  k  la  famine,  qui 
les  faifoit  mourir  tout  vifs,  comme  vn  ennemy  trop 
domeftique  renferm^  dans  leurs  propres  maifons,  & 
qui  s'eftoit  rendu  le  maiflre  de  la  place.  Mais  ils 
craignoient  en  mefme  temps,  de  trouuer  vne  mort 
plus  cruelle,  &  de  tomber  dans  les  feux  &  les  flammes 
des  Iroquois,  allans  ainJi  chercher  leur  vie.  lis  fe 
cofeffent  auat  que  de  partir,  ils  redoublet  leurs  deuo- 
tions  d'autant  plus  que  leurs  miferes  s'augmentet: 
plulieurs  fe  comunient  pour  fe  difpofer  k  la  mort; 
iamais  leur  foy  ne  fut  plus  viue,  &  I'efperance  du 
Paradis  ne  leur  parut  iamais  plus  douce,  que  dans  ce 
defefpoir  &  c6t  abandon  de  leur  vie.  Ils  diuifent 
leurs  troupes;  afin  [82]  que  li  les  vns  tomboient  entre 
les  mains  de  1' ennemy  les  autres  pialTent  efchaper. 

Le  grand  Lac,  qui  entouroit  noftre  Ifle  de  Saint 
lofeph,  n'eftoit  alors  rien  qu'vne  croufte  de  glaces, 
efpaiffes  de  deux  &  de  trois  pieds.  A  peine  ces  bons 
Chreftiens  nous  quittoient  ils  de  veue,  que  ces  glaces 
fondent  fous  leurs  pieds:  d'aucuns  fe  noyent  dans 
ces  abyfmes,  &  y  trouueret  leur  tombeau ;  les  autres 
s'en  retiret  plus  heureufement  quoy  que  tranlis  d'vn 
froid  mortel.  Ce  fut  vne  mort  bien  cruelle,  a  de  pau- 
ures  vieillars,  k  des  femmes  &  k  des  enfans,  de  rendre 
I'ame  fur  ces  neges,  fans  aide  &  fans  fecours:  mais 
non  pas  fans  la  confolation  de  celuy,  qu'ils  adoroient 
dedans  leur  coeur,  &  qui  iamais  n'y  piit  mourir. 

Vne  vieillc  Chreflienne,  aag^e  de  foixante  ans, 
ayant  paff^  toute  la  nuit  couch^e  au  milieu  de  ces 
glaces,  y  fut  trouu(5e  pleine  de  vie  le  lendemain 
matin.     On  luy  demande,  qui  I'auoit  conferu^e.     le 


■I ! 


lain 
le 


1650J 


RELA  TION  OF  164^-50 


186 


snow ;  or  to  repair  to  certain  fishing-grounds  in  places 
more  open  to  the  Southern  Sun,  where  the  ice  melted 
sooner.  They  hoped  to  find,  in  those  remote  places, 
some  little  alleviation  from  the  famine,  which  was 
rendering  their  existence  a  living  death, —  as  it  were, 
an  enemy  domiciliated,  shut  up  in  their  own  houses, 
who  had  made  himself  master  of  the  situation, —  and 
all  this,  while  in  dread  of  a  death  still  more  c^uel, 
and  of  falling  into  the  fire  and  flame  of  the  Iroquois, 
who  were  continually  seeking  their  lives.  Before 
going  away,  they  confessed,  redoubling  their  devo- 
tions in  proportion  as  their  miseries  increased.  Many 
received  holy  communion  as  preparation  for  death. 
Never  was  their  faith  more  lively,  and  never  did  the 
hope  of  Paradise  appear  to  them  more  sweet  than  in 
this  despair,  this  surrender  of  their  lives.  They  split 
up  into  bands,  so  [82]  that,  if  some  fell  into  the 
hands  of  the  enemy,  others  might  escape. 

The  great  Lake  which  surrounded  our  Island  of 
Saint  Joseph  was,  at  that  time,  nothing  but  a  bed  of 
ice  two  or  three  feet  in  thickness.  Hardly  had  these 
good  Christians  left  our  sight  than  the  ice  melted 
under  their  feet ;  some  were  drowned  in  the  depths, 
and  found  there  their  grave ;  others,  more  fortunate, 
extricated  themselves,  though  benumbed  with  a 
deadly  cold.  It  was  a  most  cruel  death  to  the  poor  old 
men,  women,  and  children,  to  give  up  their  souls  on 
these  snows,  without  help  or  succor, — not,  however, 
without  consolation  from  him  whom  they  adored  in 
their  hearts,  and  who  could  never  die  therein. 

An  old  Christian  woman,  aged  sixty  years,  who 
had  passed  the  whole  night  lying  on  the  ice,  was 
found  on  the  following  morning,  full  of  life.  She 
was  asked  who  had  preserved  her.     *  *  I  called  out, ' ' 


ill 


m 


i    13 


I 


fi 


If 


',1 


186 


LES  RELA  TIONS  DES  JASUITES        [Vol.  8ft 


m'efcriois  de  fois  ^  autres,  refpodit  elle,  Icfous  taitenr, 
lef us  ayez  piti^  de  moy :  en  mefme  temps  ie  me  fen- 
tois  toute  efchauff^e  le  froid  me  faifilTant  h  quelque 
temps  de  Ik,  ie  recommengois  ma  priere,  [83]  &  mon 
corps  reprennoit  fa  chaleur,  i'ay  paff^  toute  la  nuit 
en  cette  forte,  &  i'attendois  la  mort  auec  plaifir. 
Cette  pauure  femme,  ne  fgauoit  rien  que  ces  deux 
mots  de  toutes  fes  prieres,  elle  en  r^chapa  pour  lors: 
mais  du  depuis  elle  eft  tomb^e  entre  les  mains  des 
ennemis,  &  y  trouua  la  fin  de  fes  miferes. 

Nos  pauures  fameliques  comengoient  k  iouYr  des 
douceurs  de  leur  pefche,  qu'ils  trouuerent  affez  abon- 
dante :  mais  leur  ioye  deuoit  eftre  plus  pour  le  Ciel, 
que  pour  la  terre.  Le  iour  de  I'Annonciation,  vingt- 
cinquiefme  de  Mars,  vne  arm6e  d' Iroquois  ayans 
march^  prez  de  deux-cents  lieues  de  pais,  k  trauers 
les  glaces  &  les  neges,  trauerfans  les  montagnes  & 
les  forefts  pleines  d'horreur;  furprirent  au  commen- 
cement de  la  nuit,  le  camp  de  nos  Chreftiens,  &  en 
firent  vne  cruelle  boucherie.  II  fembloit  que  le  Ciel 
conduifit  toutes  leurs  demarches,  &  qu'ils  euflent  vn 
Ange  pour  guide:  car  ils  diuiferent  leurs  troupes 
auec  tant  de  bon-heur,  qu'ils  trouuerent  en  moins  de 
deux  iours,  toutes  les  bandes  de  nos  Chreftiens,  qui 
eftoient  difperf^es  9k  &  Ik ;  efloign^es  les  vnes  des 
autres,  de  fix,  [84]  fept,  &  huit  lieues.  Cent  per- 
fonnes  en  vn  lieu ;  en  vn  autre  cinquante :  &  mefme 
il  y  auoit  quelques  families  folitaires,  qui  s'eftoient 
efcart^es  en  des  lieux  moins  connus,  &  hors  de  tout 
chemin.  Chofe  eftrange !  de  tout  ce  monde  diffip^, 
vn  feul  homme  s'efchapa,  qui  vint  nous  en  apporter 
les  nouuelles :  comme  il  arriua  autrefois  k  ce  prodige 
de  Patience,  auquel  il  ne  reftoit  dedans  fes  pertes/ 


f 


oi..  35 

litenr, 
e  fen- 
lelque 
k  mon 
a  nuit 
plaifir. 
5  deux 
ir  lors : 
ins  des 

ui'r  des 
!Z  abon- 
le  Ciel, 
,  vingt- 
s   ayans 
trauers 
agnes  & 
:ommen- 
ns,  &  en 
le  le  Ciel 
iffent  vn 
troupes 
tnoins  de 
iens,  qui 
vnes  des 
:ent  per- 
&  mefnie 
3'eftoient 
•s  de  tout 
e  diffip6, 
apporter 
e  prodige 
;s  pertes; 


1650] 


JiELA  TION  OF  1649-30 


187 


she  replied,  "  from  time  to  time,  Jesous  taitenr, — 
*  Jesus,  have  pity  on  me.'  At  the  same  moment,  I 
felt  myself  quite  warm.  The  cold  again  seizing  on 
me,  some  time  after,  I  renewed  my  prayer,  [83] 
and  my  body  again  recovered  its  warmth.  I  passed 
the  whole  night  in  that  way,  and  cheerfully  awaited 
my  death."  This  poor  woman  could  recall  but  those 
two  words  out  of  all  her  prayers.  She  recovered, 
for  that  time;  but  since  then  has  fallen  into  the 
hands  of  the  enemies,  and  has  thus  met  the  termina- 
tion of  her  miseries. 

Our  poor  starvelings  were  just  beginning  to  enjoy 
the  benefit  of  their  fishery,  which  they  found  abun- 
dant enough;  but  their  joy  was  to  savor  more  of 
Heaven  than  of  earth.  On  the  day  of  the  Annuncia- 
tion, the  twenty-fifth  of  March,  a  war-party  of 
Iroquois  —  who  had  marched  over  nearly  two  hun- 
dred leagues  of  country,  across  ice  and  snow,  crossing 
mountains  and  forests  full  of  terrors  —  surprised,  one 
nightfall,  our  Christians'  camp,  and  perpetrated  in  it 
a  cruel  butchery.  It  seemed  as  if  Heaven  directed 
their  every  step,  and  as  if  they  had  an  Angel  for 
guide ;  for  they  divided  their  forces  so  successfully 
as  to  discover,  in  less  than  two  days,  every  party  of 
our  Christians,  who  had  scattered  hither  and  thither. 
These  were  separated  by  six,  [84]  seven,  or  eight 
leagues, —  one  hundred  in  one  place,  fifty  in  another; 
theie  were  even  some  solitary  families  who  had 
strayed  into  less  well-known  places,  and  away  from 
all  beaten  track.  Strange  circumstance !  of  all  that 
scattered  people,  but  a  single  man  escaped,  who 
came  to  bring  to  us  the  news, —  even  as,  in  days  of 
old,  it  happened  to  that  prodigy  of  Patience  for  whom 
there  survived,  in  his  losses,  but  one  sad  messenger, 


\ 


I 


m 


\s^ 


188 


LES  RELA  TIONS  DES  jASUITES        [Vol.  86 


f 


r 


linon  vn  trifle  meffager,  qui  venoit  hors  d'halene, 
luy  en  donner  aduis,  &  luy  rendre  fon  mal-heur  plus 
fenfible. 

Ma  plume  n'a  plus  d'ancre,  pour  exprimer  la  rage 
des  Iroquois,  en  ces  rencontres,  elle  k  horreur  de 
repref enter  fi  fouuent  des  fpedtacles  de  cruaut^,  auf- 
quels  nos  yeux  ne  peuuent  pas  s'appriuoifer,  aufll 
peu  que  nos  fens ;  qui  iamais  ne  font  infenfibles  k 
I'excez  de  tons  ces  tourmens  de  fureur.  Noflre 
vnique  confolation,  c'eft  que  ces  fupplices  d'horreur, 
trouuent  la  fin  auec  nos  vies,  &  que  Dieu  les  couron- 
nera  d'vn  bon-heur  qui  n'a  point  de  fin. 

Du  depuis,  les  malheurs  nous  ont  accueilly  k  la 
foule,  k  peine  les  Chrefliens,  qui  reftoient  dans  le 
bourg  Saint  lofeph,  [85]  auoient  refpir6  quelques 
iours ;  pour  releuer  leurs  ef perances,  apres  vn  coup  fi 
rude,  qui  les  auoit  tons  abbatu.  lis  tremblent  dans 
la  crainte  des  flammes,  &  de  la  cruaut^  des  Iroquois : 
mais  vn  mal  qu'ils  n'enuifagent  que  de  loin,  leur 
parol  ft  moins  terrible,  que  la  douleur  prefente,  d'vne 
famine  infupportable,  qui  les  portoit  iufques  aux 
rebuts  de  la  nature,  &  les  faifoit  deuorer  des  car- 
calles  pourries;  la  Mere  n' auoit  point  d'horreur 
d'affouuir  fa  faim  enrag^e  du  corps  de  fon  enfant/  & 
les  enfans  ne  pardonnoient  pas  au  corps  de  leur  Pere. 

La  faim,  dit-on,  fait  fortir  les  loups  hors  du  bois. 
Nos  Hurons  fameliques,  font  aufil  contrains  de  fortir 
hors  d'vn  bourg,  qui  n'efloit  remply  que  d'horreur. 
C\  ftoit  fur  la  fin  de  Carefme.  Helas!  que  ces  pau- 
ures  Chrefties  eufTent  eft6  trop  heureux,  s'ils  euflent 
eu  dequoy  le  ieufner,  au  gland  &  k  I'eau  Le  iour  de 
Pafque,  nous  leur  fifmes  faire  vne  communion  gene- 
rale:  le  lendemain,   ils  fe   feparerent   d'auec  nous: 


li' 


1650] 


RELA  TION  OF  1649-30 


189 


who  hastened  breathlessly  to  apprise  him  of  his 
calamity,  and  thus  render  it  more  poignant. 

My  pen  can  no  longer  express  the  fury  of  the 
Iroquois  in  these  encounters;  it  shrinks  from  the 
repeated  portrayal  of  such  scenes  of  cruelty, — to 
which  our  eyes  cannot  become  familiarized  any  more 
than  our  feelings,  which  are  never  dulled  to  the 
violence  of  all  these  torments  which  rage  suggests. 
Our  sole  consolation  is  this,  that  these  horrible  inflic- 
tions end  with  our  lives ;  and  that  God  will  crown 
them  with  a  happiness  that  has  no  end. 

Since  then,  misfortunes  have  crowded  upon  us. 
Hardly  had  the  Christians  who  remained  in  the 
village  of  Saint  Joseph  [85]  enjoyed  a  few  days' 
respite,  to  raise  their  hopes  after  so  terrible  a  blow  as 
that  which  had  stricken  them  down,  than  their  fear 
of  the  flames,  and  of  the  cruelty  of  the  Iroquois, 
revived.  But  an  evil  which  they  regarded  only  as 
remote  seemed  less  terrible  than  the  immediate  pangs 
of  an  insupportable  famine,  which  was  already  inclin- 
ing them  to  the  very  rejections  of  nature,  and  causing 
tl.em  to  devour  rotting  carrion.  The  Mother  felt 
no  horror  in  satiating  her  raging  hunger  on  the  body 
of  her  own  child;  nor  did  the  children  spare  the 
body  of  their  Father. 

Hunger,  it  is  said,  drives  the  wolves  from  the 
woods ;  our  starving  Hurons  were  likewise  compelled 
to  leave  a  village  where  only  horror  abounded.  This 
was  toward  the  end  of  Lent.  Alas!  these  poor 
Christians  would  have  been  only  too  happy  had  they 
had  anything  from  which  to  fast,  as  even  acorns  and 
water.  On  Easter  day,  we  had  a  general  com- 
munion for  them.  The  next  day,  they  parted  from 
us,  leaving  in  our  care  all  their  little  property, — the 


.^ ', 


\i 


I 


190 


LES  RELATIONS  Dt:S  jfi.SUITES        [Voi.  36 


<il 


nous  laiffans  tous  leurs  petits  meubles :  dont  la  pluf- 
part  declarerent  publiquement  qu'ils  nous  faifoient 
leurs  heritiers;  voyans  bien  que  leur  [86]  mort 
n'eftoit  pas  efloign^e,  &  qu'ils  la  portoient  dans  leur 
fein. 

En  effedt,  peu  6'  iours  s'efcoulent,  que  nous 
apprenons  les  nouuei.  iS  du  malheur  que  nous  auios 
preueu  Ce  pauure  troupeau  diflipe  tombe  dans  les 
embufches  de  nos  ennemis  Iroquois:  les  vns  font 
tuez  fur  la  place;  on  traifne  les  autres  captifs;  on 
brufle  les  femmes  &  les  enfans,  quelques  vns  s'^cha- 
perent  du  milieu  de  ces  flammes,  qui  apportent 
I'effroy  &  la  terreur  par  tout. 

Huit  iours  apres,  vn  femblable  mal-heur  accueille 
encore  vne  autre  bande.  Ce  ne  font  que  malTacres 
en  quelque  lieu  qu'ils  aillent.  Par  tout  la  famine  les 
fuit;  ou  ils  rencontrent  vn  ennemy,  plus  cruel  que  la 
cruaut^  mefme:  &  pour  comble  d'vne  mifere  fans 
reffource,  ils  apprenent  que  deux  puiffantes  armies 
font  en  chemin,  pour  les  venir  exterminer:  que  la 
premiere  vient  k  deflein  de  faire  le  d^gaft  dans  leurs 
champs,  d'arracher  leurs  bleds  d'Inde,  &  de  defoler 
la  campagne ;  que  la  feconde  arm^e  doit  moilTonner 
tout  ce  qui  auroit  efcliap6  la  fureur  des  premiers. 
Ce  n'efl  que  defefpoir  par  tout. 

Dans  le  plus  fort  de  toutes  ces  alarmes,  [87]  deux 
anciens  Capitaines  viennent  me  trouuer  en  fecret,  & 
me  firent  cette  harangue.  Mon  frere,  me  diret-ils, 
tes  yeux  te  trompent  lors  que  tu  nous  regarde :  tu 
croy  voir  des  hommes  viuans;  &  nous  ne  fommes 
que  des  fpedtres,  &  des  ames  de  trefpaffez.  Cette 
terre  que  tu  foule  aux  pieds  va  s'entr'ouurir,  pour 
nous  abifmer  auec  toy;  afin  que  nous  foyons  au  lieu 


m 


1660J 


liELA  TION  OF  ibig-so 


191 


greater  number  publicly  declaring  that  they  made 
us  their  heirs,  perceiving  clearly  that  their  [86] 
death  was  not  far  away,  and  that  they  carried  it 
within. 

Indeed,  but  a  few  days  had  slipped  by  when  news 
reached  us  of  the  misfortune  we  had  anticipated. 
That  poor  scattered  band  fell  into  the  snares  of  our 
enemies,  the  Iroquois.  Some  were  slain  on  the  spot ; 
others  dragged  away  captive;  women  and  children 
were  burned ;  some  few  escaped  from  the  midst  of 
the  flames,  which  struck  dismay  and  terror  into 
every  heart. 

Eight  days  afterward,  a  similar  misfortune  assailed 
yet  another  band.  Whithersoever  they  go,  mas- 
sacres await  them.  Famine  follows  them  every- 
where, in  which  they  meet  an  enemy  more  cruel 
than  cruelty  itself;  and  to  fill  up  the  measure  of 
misery  without  hope,  they  learned  that  two  power- 
ful war-parties  were  on  the  way,  who  were  coming 
to  exterminate  them ;  that  the  first  designed  to  make 
havoc  of  their  fields,  to  pluck  up  their  Indian  corn, 
and  to  lay  waste  the  country :  while  the  second  party 
was  to  cut  down  everything  that  might  have  escaped 
the  fury  of  the  first.     Despair  reigns  everywhere. 

At  the  height  of  these  alarms,  [87]  two  old  Cap- 
tains came  to  see  me  privately,  and  addressed  me 
thus:  "  My  brother,"  they  said  to  me,  **  thine  eyes 
deceive  thee  when  thou  lookest  on  us ;  thou  believest 
that  thou  seest  living  men,  while  we  are  but  specters, 
the  souls  of  the  departed.  The  ground  thou  treadest 
on  is  about  to  open  under  us,  to  swallow  us  up, 
together  with  thyself,  that  we  may  be  in  the  place 
where  we  ought  to  be,  among  the  dead.  It  is  need- 
ful that  thou  shouldst  know,  my  brother,  that  this 


I 


»   V 


■1; 


-T 


192 


LES  RELA  TIONS  DES  /^SUITES         [Vol.  35 


'■ 


qui  nous  eil;  deu  parmy  les  morts.  II  faut  que  tu 
fgache,  raon  frere,  que  cette  nuit  dans  vn  confeil,  on 
a  pris  la  refolution  d'abandonner  cette  Ifle.  La 
plufpart  ont  deffein  de  fe  retirer  dans  les  bois,  afin 
de  viure  folitaires,  &  qu'homme  du  monde  ne  fja- 
chant  oh.  ils  font,  Tennemy  n'en  puiffe  auoir  la 
connoiffance :  Quelques-vns  font  eftat  de  reculer  k 
fix  grandes  iourn^es  d'icy :  les  autres  prennent  leur 
route  vers  les  peuples  d'Andafto^,  alliez  de  la  novi- 
uelle  Suede:  d'autres  difent  tout  haut,  qu'ils  vont 
mener  leurs  femmes  &  leurs  enfans,  pour  fe  letter 
entre  les  bras  de  I'ennemy/  oh.  ils  ont  vn  grand 
nombre  de  leurs  parens,  qui  les  defirent,  &  qui  leur 
donnent  aduis,  qu'ils  ayent  h.  fe  fauuer  au  pluftoft, 
d'vn  pais  defol6,  s'ils  ne  veulent  perir  delTous  fes 
ruines:  Men  [88]  frere,  adiouftoient-ils,  que  feras-tu 
folitaire  en  cette  Ifle,  lors  que  tout  le  monde  t'aura 
quitt^ ?  es-tu  venu  icy  pour  oultiuer  la  terre  ?  veux  tu 
enfeigner  &.  des  arbres?  ces  Lacs,  &  ces  Riuieres, 
ont  elles  des  oreilles  pour  efcouter  tes  inflruc5tions? 
pourrois  tu  fuiure  tout  ce  monde,  qui  fe  va  diffiper? 
la  plufpart  trouueront  la  mort,  oil  ils  efperent  trou- 
uer  la  vie:  quand  tu  aurois  cent  corps,  pour  te 
diuiler  en  cent  lieux,  tu  ne  pourrois  pas  y  fuffire,  tu 
leur  ferois  k  charge,  &  tu  leur  ferois  en  horreur:  La 
famine  les  fuiura  partout,  &  la  guerre  les  trouuerra. 
Mon  frere,  prend  courage,  m'adioufterent  ces  Capi- 
taines.  Toy  feul,  nous  peux  doner  la  vie,  fl  tu  veux 
faire  vn  coup  hardy,  Choifis  vn  lieu,  ou  tu  puilTe 
nous  rafl^embler,  &  empefche  cette  dilTipatio,  iette 
les  yeux  du  coft^  de  Quebec,  pour  y  tranf porter  les 
reftes  de  ce  pais  perdu,  n'attes  pas  que  la  famine,  & 
que  la  guerre,  ayet  maffacr^  iufques  au  dernier,  tu 


^, 


'Ph;T'i 


1650] 


•  RELA  TION  OF  1649-50 


193 


night,  in  council,  we  have  resolved  upon  leaving 
this  Island.  The  greater  number  intend  to  take 
refuge  within  the  forest,  and  live  alone ;  and  as  no 
one  in  the  world  will  know  where  they  are,  the 
enemy  cannot  have  knowledge  of  them.  Some 
reckon  on  withdrawing  six  long  days'  journey  hence ; 
others  take  their  route  toward  the  people  of  Andas- 
to6,  allies  of  new  Sweden;  others  speak  boldly  of 
taking  their  wives  and  children,  and  throwing  them- 
selves into  the  arms  of  the  enemy, — among  whom 
they  have  a  great  number  of  relatives  who  wish  for 
them,  and  counsel  them  to  make  their  escape  as  soon 
as  possible  from  a  desolated  country,  if  they  do  not 
wish  to  perish  beneath  its  ruins.  My  [88]  broth- 
er," they  added,  "  what  wilt  thou  do  alone  in  this 
Island,  when  all  will  have  forsaken  thee?  Hast  thou 
come  here  to  cultivate  the  land  ?  Wilt  thou  instruct 
the  trees?  These  Lakes,  and  these  Rivers,  have 
they  ears  to  listen  to  thy  teaching?  Couldst  thou  fol- 
low all  this  multitude  which  is  about  to  disperse? 
The  greater  number  will  meet  their  death  where 
they  hope  to  find  life.  Even  couldst  thou  have  a 
hundred  bodies,  to  be  present  in  a  hundred  places, 
it  would  not  suffice ;  and  thou  wouldst  be  a  burden 
to  them,  and  they  would  hold  thee  in  abhorrence. 
Famine  will  track  their  ever)'-  step,  and  war  will 
hunt  them  down. 

"My  brother,  take  courage,"  added  these  Cap- 
tains. "  Thou  alone  canst  bestow  upon  us  life,  if 
thou  wilt  strike  a  daring  blow.  Choose  a  place 
where  thou  mayst  be  able  to  reassemble  us,  and 
prevent  this  dispersion.  Cast  thine  eyes  toward 
Quebec,  and  transport  thither  the  remnants  of  this 
ruined  nation.     Do  not  wait  until  famine  and  war 


. 


=  h 


w 


T 


194 


LES  RELATIONS  DES  /£SUITES         [Vol.  36 


\ 


il 


I 


f 


\  \ 


I 


il 


!  • 


nous  porte  dedas  tes  mains,  &  dans  ton  coeur.  La 
mort  t'en  a  rauy  plus  de  dix  mill'^.  Si  tu  differe 
dauantage  il  n'en  reftera  plus  vn  feul:  &  alors  tu 
aurois  le  regret  de  n'auoir  [89]  pas  fauu6  ceux  que 
tu  aurois  pu  retirer  du  danger,  &  qui  t'en  ouurent 
les  nioyens.  Si  tu  efcoute  nos  defirs,  nous  ferons 
vne  Eglife  k  I'abry  du  fort  de  Kebec:  noftre  foy  n'y 
fera  pas  efteinte:  les  exemples  des  Algonquins  & 
des  Fran9ois  nous  tiendront  en  noftre  deuoir:  leur 
charite  foulagera  vne  partie  de  nos  miferes/  &  au 
moins  y  trouuerons-nous  quelquefois  quelque  mor- 
ceau  de  pain  pour  nos  petits  enfans,  qui  depuis  li 
long  temps,  n'ont  que  du  gland,  &  des  racines 
ameres,  pour  fouftenir  leur  vie.  Apres  tout,  deuf- 
fions-nous  mourir  auec  eux,  la  mort  nous  y  fera  plus 
douce,  qu'au  milieu  des  forefts,  ou  perfonne  ne  nous 
affifteroit  ^  bien  mourir,  &  ou  nous  craignons  que 
noftre  foy  ne  s'affoibliffe  auec  le  temps,  quelque 
refolution  que  nous  ayons  de  la  cherir  plus  que  nos 
vies. 

Ayant  entendu  le  difcours  de  ces  Capitaines,  i'en 
fis  le  rapport  k  nos  Peres.  L'affaire  eftoit  trop  im- 
portante,  pour  la  conclure  en  peu  de  iours.  Nous 
redoublons  nos  deuotions;  nous  confaltons  enfemble; 
mais  plus  encore  auec  Dieu ;  nous  faifons  des  prieres 
de  quarantes  heures,  pour  reconnoiftre  fes  fainc5tes 
volontez.  [90]  Nous  examinons  cette  affaire,  quinze, 
feize  &  vingt  fois.  II  nous  femble  de  plus  en  plus 
que  Dieu  auoit  parld  par  la  bouche  de  ces  Capitaines. 
Car  nous  voyons  qu'il  eftoit  vray,  que  tout  le  pais  des 
Hurons,  n'eftoit  plus  qu'vne  terre  d'horreur,  &  vn 
lieu  de  maflacre.  En  quelque  endroit  que  nous 
iettaffions  noftre  veue,  nous  eftions  conuaincus,   que 


In 


/OL.  36 

.     La 

liffere 
Drs  tu 
IX  que 
lurent 
ferons 
oy  n'y 
lins  & 
r:  leur 
•  &  au 
e  mor- 
;puis  fi 
racines 
t,  deuf- 
:ra  plus 
le  nous 
3ns  que 
i^uelque 
que  nos 

.es,  i'en 

rop  im- 
Nous 

If  emble ; 
prieres 

faindtes 
quinze, 
en  plus 
itaines. 
ais  des 
r,  &  vn 
e  nous 
us,   que 


1650] 


RELA  TION  OF  i64g-so 


196 


have  slain  the  last  of  us.  Thou  bearest  us  in  thy 
hands  and  thy  heart.  More  than  ten  thousand  have 
been  snatched  away  by  death.  If  thou  delay  longer, 
not  one  will  remain,  and  then  thou  wouldst  know 
the  regret  of  not  having  [89]  saved  those  whom  thou 
couldst  have  withdrawn  from  danger,  and  who  dis- 
closed to  thee  the  means.  If  thou  listen  to  our 
wishes,  we  will  build  a  Church  under  shelter  of  the 
fort  at  Kebec.  There,  our  faith  will  not  die  out ; 
and  the  examples  of  the  Algonquins  and  of  the  French 
will  hold  us  to  our  duty.  Their  charity  will  alle- 
viate, in  part,  our  miseries;  and,  at  the  least,  we 
shall  sometimes  find  there  a  morsel  of  bread  for  our 
little  ones,  who,  to  sustain  life,  have  for  so  long 
lived  on  acorns,  and  bitter  roots.  After  all,  if  we 
must  die  with  them,  death  there  would  be  to  us  far 
easier  than  in  the  midst  of  forests,  where  no  one 
would  assist  us  to  die  well ;  and  where,  we  fear,  our 
faith  v/ould  in  time  become  enfeebled,  whatever 
resolution  we  had  to  prize  it  more  than  our  lives. ' ' 

Having  listened  to  the  discourse  of  these  Captains, 
I  made  a  report  of  it  to  our  Fathers.  The  matter 
was  too  important  to  settle  in  a  few  days.  We 
redoubled  our  devotions ;  we  consulted  together,  but 
still  more  with  God.  We  offered  prayers  during 
forty  hours,  that  we  might  discover  his  holy  will. 
[90]  We  discussed  this  matter  fifteen,  sixteen,  even 
twenty  times.  It  seemed  to  us  more  and  more  clear 
that  God  had  spoken  to  us  by  the  lips  of  these  Cap- 
tains ;  for  the  truth  was  apparent  to  us  that  the  entire 
Huron  country  was  but  a  land  of  horror  and  a  region  of 
massacres.  Wherever  we  cast  our  eyes,  we  saw  con- 
vincing proof  that  famine  on  the  one  hand,  and  War 
on  the   other,   were   completing   the   extermination 


I! 


f"'r- 


-^'  \\ 


■ 


T 


il 


r 


I'' 


196 


LES  RELATIONS  DES  J&SUITES        [Vol.  3& 


la  famine  d'vn  coft^,  &  la  Guerre  d'vn  autre,  acheue- 
roient  d'exterminer  ce  peu  qui  refloit  de  Chreftiens. 
Mais  li  nous  les  pouuions  mener  k  I'abry  du  fort  de 
nos  Franjois,  de  Montreal,  des  trois  Riuieres,  ou  de 
Quebec;  nous  iugions  qu'en  effet  ce  feroit  Ik  I'vnique 
lieu  de  leur  refuge  que  les  fecours  que  nous  pour- 
rions  leur  rendre,  y  feroient  plus  puiffans,  &  que 
leur  foy  y  feroit  plus  en  affeurance :  en  vn  mot,  que 
Dieu  y  feroit  plus  glorifi6. 

Ce  fut  vn  fentiment  fi  general  de  tous  nos  Peres, 
que  ie  ne  pu  y  refifter,  eftant  d'ailleurs  bien  affeur^ 
que  leur  coeur  efloit  tellement  attach^  aux  croix  & 
aux  fouffrances,  qu'ils  cherilToient  dans  cette  heu- 
reufe  Miffion ;  que  chofe  au  monde  ne  les  euft  pii 
detacher  fmon  I'vnique  [91]  veue  de  la  plus  grande 
gloire  de  Dieu. 

L'ennemy  cependant  continue  tousjours  fes  maffa- 
cres/  la  famine  va  nous  depeuplant,  fi  nous  ne 
haflons  noftre  retraidte  nous  fauuerons  moins  de 
Chreftiens.  Le  deflein  en  ayant  eft^  pris  k  loifir, 
I'execution  en  deuoit  eftre  prompte;  crainte  que 
riroquois  n'entendant  ces  nouuelles,  n'allaft  nous 
tendre  des  embufches,  pour  nous  arrefter  au  paffage. 

Ce  ne  fut  pas  fans  larmes  que  nous  quittafmes  ce 
pais,  qui  polTedoit  nos  coeurs,  qui  arreitoit  nos  eipe- 
rances,  &  qui  eftant  defia  rougy  du  fang  glorieux  de 
nos  freres,  nous  promettoit  vn  femblable  bon-heur, 
nous  ouuroit  le  chemin  du  Ciel,  &  la  porte  du  Para- 
dis.  Mais  quoy!  il  faut  s'oublier  de  foy-mefme,  & 
quitter  Dieu,  pour  Dieu,  ie  veux  dire,  qu'il  merite 
luy  feul  d'eftre  feruy,  fans  la  veue  de  nos  interefts, 
fullent-ils  les  plus  Saints  que  nous  puilTions  auoir  au 
monde. 


'T 


•VT' 


1650] 


JiELA  TION  OF  164^-50 


197 


of  the  few  Christians  who  remained:  but  if  we 
could  conduct  them  to  the  shelter  of  a  French  fort  at 
Montreal,  three  Rivers,  or  Quebec,  it  would  be,  we 
thought,  their  only  place  of  refuge;  that  there,  the 
assistance  which  we  could  render  them  would  be 
more  effectual,  and  their  faith  would  be  more 
assured ;  and,  in  fine,  that  there  God  would  be  more 
glorified. 

So  generally  was  this  the  opinion  of  our  Fathers, 
that  I  could  not  withstand  it, — being  moreover  well 
assured  that  their  hearts  were  so  entirely  wedded  to 
the  crosses  and  sufferings  which  they  cherished  in 
this  blessed  Mission,  that  nothing  in  the  world  would 
induce  them  to  tear  themselves  from  these,  save  the 
one  [91]  motive  of  the  greater  glory  of  God. 

Meanwhile,  the  enemy  continued  their  massacres 
without  pause :  the  famine  went  on  depopulating  us : 
unless  we  hurried  our  retreat,  we  would  save  few 
Christians.  The  resolve  being  deliberately  taken, 
its  execution  must  be  speedy,  for  fear  that  the 
Iroquois,  hearing  the  news  of  it,  might  lay  a  snare 
for  us,  to  bar  our  way. 

It  was  not  without  tears  that  we  left  a  country 
which  possessed  our  hearts  and  engaged  our  hopes ; 
and  which,  even  now  reddened  with  the  glorious 
blood  of  our  brethren,  promised  us  a  like  happiness, 
and  opened  to  us  the  way  to  Heaven,  and  the  gate  of 
Paradise.  But  yet!  self  must  be  forgotten,  and  God 
left  for  God's  sake, —  I  mean,  that  he  is  worthy  of 
being  served  for  himself  alone,  without  regard  to 
our  interests,  were  they  the  most  Holy  that  we  could 
have  in  the  world. 

Amid  these  regrets,  the  thought  was  consoling 
that  we  were  to  take  away  with  us  poor  Christian 


il 


KW 


1 


« > 


198 


LES  RELA  TIONS  DES  jASUITES  [Vol.  36 


II 


* 


I, 


\  I 


Dans  ces  regrets,  ce  nous  fut  vne  confolation, 
d'emmener  auec  nous  de  pauures  families  Chreftien- 
nes;  enuiron  trois  cents  ames:  trifles  reliques  d'vne 
nation  autrefois  fi  peupl6e ;  que  les  miferes  [92]  ont 
accueilly,  au  temps  qu'elle  a  efl6  la  plus  fidele  a 
P.'eu.  Le  Ciel  y  auoit  fes  efluz;  il  s'eft  peupl^  de 
nos  defpoiiilles,  en  depeuplant  la  terre:  &  ce  nous 
eft  aflez,  pour  nous  contenter  dans  nos  pertes,  de 
voir  que  ceux  qui  font  reftez  auec  nous;  ayans  perdu 
leurs  bienS;  leurs  parens,  leur  patrie,  n'ayent  pas 
perdu  leur  foy.  Plus  de  trois  mille  auoient  depuis 
vn  an  receu  le  Saint  Baptefme,  qu'euflions-nous  pu 
plus  faintement  leur  fouhaitter,  fmon  qu'ils  empor- 
taffent  dans  le  Ciel  leur  innocence  baptifmale  ?  Dieu 
leur  a  fait  cette  grace,  pluftoft  qu'ils  ne  s'y  atten- 
doient,  pourrions-nous  bien  nous  plaindre,  qu'il  leur 
a}^  liaft6  fes  faueurs?  puifque  nous-mefmes  nous 
nous  fuflions  eftimez  trop  heureux,  de  mourir  en  leur 
compagnie  pour  iouir  du  mefme  bon-heur. 

Par  les  cbemins,  qui  font  d'enuiron  trois  cents 
lieues,  nous  auons  marcli6  fur  nos  gardes,  comme 
dans  vne  terre  ennemie:  n'y  ayant  aucun  lieu  oh 
riroquois  ne  foit  k  craindre,  &  ou  nous  n'ayons  veu 
des  refles  de  fa  cruaut^,  ou  des  marques  de  fa  perfidie. 
D'vn  coft^  nous  enuifagions  des  campagnes,  ou  il 
[93]  n'y  a  pas  dix  ann^es,  que  i'y  comptois  les  huit  & 
dix  milles  hommes :  de  tout  celk,  il  n'en  reftoit  pas 
mefme  vn  feul.  Paffant  plus  outre,  nous  cofloyions 
des  terres,  nouuellement  rougies  du  fang  de  nos 
Chreftiens.  D'vne  autre  part  vous  euffiez  veu  des 
piftes  encores  toutes  fraifches,  de  ceux  qu'on  auoit 
emmenez  captifs.  Vn  peu  plus  loin;  il  n'y  auoit 
■que  des  carcafles  de  cabanes,  abandonnees  k  la  fureur 


1650] 


RELA  TION  OF  1649-50 


19» 


families  numbering  about  three  hundred  souls, — 
sad  remains  of  a  nation  formerly  so  numerous, 
which  calamities  [92]  have  assailed  at  a  time  when 
they  were  most  faithful  to  God.  Heaven  had  there 
its  elect, —  in  depopulating  the  earth,  it  has  peopled 
itself  with  our  spoils ;  and  it  suffices  to  content  us  in 
our  losses  to  see  that  those  who  remain  with  us, 
although  they  have  lost  their  goods,  their  relatives, 
their  country,  have  not  lost  their  faith.  A  year  ago, 
more  than  three  thousand  persons  had  received  Holy 
Baptism :  what  more  holy  wish  could  we  have  formed 
for  them,  than  that  they  should  take  with  them  into 
Heaven  their  baptismal  innocence?  God  granted 
them  that  grace  sooner  than  they  expected:  could 
we  rightly  complain  that  he  had  hurried  his  favors 
upon  them  ?  —  considering  that  we  would  have  deemed 
ourselves  only  too  blest,  had  we  died  in  their  com- 
pany, so  as  to  enjoy  the  same  happiness. 

By  roads  which  covered  a  distance  of  about  three 
hundred  leagues  we  marched,  upon  our  guard  as  in 
an  enemy's  country, —  there  not  being  any  spot 
where  the  Iroquois  is  not  to  be  feared,  and  where  we 
did  not  see  traces  of  his  cruelty,  or  signs  of  his 
treachery.  On  one  side  we  surveyed  districts  which, 
[93]  not  ten  years  ago,  I  reckoned  to  contain  eight 
or  ten  thousand  men.  For  all  that,  there  remains 
not  one  of  them.  Going  on  beyond,  we  coasted 
along  shores  but  lately  reddened  with  the  blood  of 
our  Christians.  On  another  side  you  might  have  seen 
the  trail,  quite  recent,  of  those  who  had  been  taken 
captive.  A  little  farther  on,  were  but  the  shells  of 
cabins  abandoned  to  the  fury  of  the  enemy, —  those 
who  had  dwelt  in  them  having  fled  into  the  forest, 
and   condemned  themselves  to  a  life   which  is  but 


f 


f' 


200 


LES  RELATIONS  DES  J&SUITES         [Vol.  35 


de  Tennemy,  ceux  qui  les  habitoient  ayans  pris  la 
fuite  dans  les  bois,  &  s'eftans  condamnez  k  n'auoir 
plus  d'autre  demeure  qu'vn  perpetuel  banniffement. 
Les  Nipifllriniens  peuples  de  la  langue  Algonquine, 
auoiet  eft6  tout  nouuellement  maffacrez  dans  leur 
lac,  de  quarante  lieues  de  contour:  lequel  autrefois 
i'auois  veu  habits  quafi  tout  le  long  de  fes  codes,  & 
lequel  maintenat  n'eft  plus  rien  qu'vne  folitude. 
Vne  iourn^e  plus  en  de9k  nous  trouuafmes  vne  forte- 
reffe,  oil  les  Iroquois  auoient  pafs6  I'Hyuer  venans  k 
la  chaffe  des  hommes.  A  quelques  lieuSs  de  1^, 
nous  en  trouuafmes  encore  vne  autre.  Par  tout, 
nous  marchions  fur  les  mefmes  d-marches  de  nos 
plus  cruels  ennemis. 

[94]  Au  milieu  du  chemin,  nous  eufmes  vne  alarme 
affez  vine,  vne  troupe  d'enairon  quarate  Frangois,  & 
de  quelques  Huros,  qui  auoient  hyuernd  k  Kebec,  & 
qui  motoient  cette  grande  riuiere,  apperceurent  quel- 
ques piftes  de  nos  d^couureurs,  &  creiiret  que  c'efloit 
I'ennemy :  En  mefme  temps  noflre  auant-garde  eiit 
aufTi  connoiffance  des  piftes  de  ceux  qui  venoiet  de 
nous  ddcouurir.  Les  vns  &  les  autres  eflans  retour- 
nez  fur  leurs  pas,  chacun  fe  prepare  au  combat:  mais 
eftans  venus  aux  approches,  nos  alarmes  furent  bien- 
tofl  chang^es  en  ioye. 

Ces  Fran9ois  que  nous  eufmes  au  rencontre, 
auoient  fait  prife  depuis  fort  peu  de  iours,  de  quel- 
ques Iroquois,  qui  auoient  voulu  les  furprendre, 
&  qui  euflent  fait  vn  coup  auffi  heureux  qu'il  eftoit 
remply  de  courage,  s'ils  fe  fuflent  afl'ez  promptement 
retirez  apres  leur  premiere  defcbarge.  lis  n'efloient 
que  dix  Iroquois,  qui  auoient  hyuern^  enuiron  foi- 
xante  lieuSs  au  deflus  des  Trois  Riuieres,  oti  ils  ne 


1650] 


RELA  TION  OF  1649  so 


201 


perpetual  banishment.  The  Nipissirinien  people,  who 
speak  the  Algonquin  tongue,  had  quite  lately  been 
massacred  at  their  lake, —  forty  leagues  in  circum- 
ference, which  formerly  I  had  seen  inhabited  in 
almost  the  entire  length  of  its  coast;  but  which,  now, 
is  nothing  but  a  solitude.  One  day's  journey  this 
side  of  the  lake,  we  found  a  fortress,  in  which  the 
Iroquois  had  passed  the  Winter,  coming  to  hunt  men ; 
a  few  leagues  thence,  we  met  with  still  another.  All 
along,  we  marched  over  the  very  steps  of  our  most 
cruel  enemies. 

[94]  Midway  in  our  journey,  we  had  an  alarm  that 
was  thrilling  enough.  A  band  of  about  forty  French- 
men, and  a  few  Hurons,  who  had  wintered  at  Kebec, 
and  who  were  ascending  this  great  river,  noticed  the 
tracks  of  some  of  our  scouts,  which  they  took  to  be 
those  of  the  enemy.  At  the  same  time,  oui'  van- 
guard had  also  noticed  the  footprints  of  those  who 
had  just  discovered  us.  Both  having  retraced  their 
steps,  each  side  prepared  itself  for  battle;  but  on 
drawing  near,  our  fears  were  soon  changed  into  joy. 

These  Frenchmen  whom  we  met  had  effected,  but 
a  very  few  days  ago,  the  capture  of  some  Iroquois, 
who  had  intended  to  surprise  them,  and  who  would 
have  dealt  a  blow  as  successful  as  daring,  ]  ad  they 
withdrawn  quickly  enough  after  their  first  volley. 
They  were  but  ten  Iroquois,  who  had  wintered  about 
sixty  leagues  above  Three  Rivers, —  where  they 
were  living  by  hunting,  and  awaiting,  in  the  Spring, 
some  band,  of  either  Frenchmen  or  Hurons,  who 
might  pass  that  way.  These  enemies,  having  de- 
scried toward  evening  [95]  the  smoke  from  the  fires 
of  our  Frenchmen,  who  had  camped  about  a  league's 
distance  from  their  place  of  ambush,  came  by  night 


m 


mi 


i- 


1 1 


i\ 


V 


202 


LES  RELA  TIONS  DES  //^.SUITES  [Vol.  8& 


-■I  • 
I-  ■ 

t 


I  i 


viuoient  que  de  chafTe ;  attendas  au  Prin-teps  quelque 
bande,  ou  de  Francois,  ou  de  Hurons  qui  palTeroient 
par  \k.  Ces  ennemis  ayans  apperceu  fur  le  foir,  [95] 
la  fum^e  du  feu  de  nos  Fran9ois,  qui  s'eltoiet  cabanez 
enuiron  vne  lieuS  proche  de  leurs  embufches, 
viennent  de  nuidt  les  reconnoiftre,  &  ils  eurent  bien 
ralleurance,  dix  qu'ils  eftoient,  d'en  attaquer 
foixante.  II  eft  vray  qu'ils  fe  g'lifferent  k  la  faueur 
d'vne  nuidt  obfcure,  &  qu'ils  prirent  leur  route  auec 
tant  de  bon-heur,  qu'ils  ne  furent  pas  apperceus  des 
fentinelles,  fmon  lors  qu'ils  eftoient  defia  dedans  le 
camp,  &  qu'ils  d^chargerent  les  coups  de  mort  fur  les 
premiers  qu'ils  rencontrerent  en  leur  chemin,  tout  le 
monde  eftant  endormy. 

II  femble  que  la  mort  ne  cherchoit  que  les  bons 
Chreftiens,  &  les  colomnes  de  noftre  Eglife  Huronne, 
ils  en  tuerent  fept  auant  qu'on  fe  fuft  reconnu, 
entr'autres  vn  Capitaine  nomm6  lean  Baptifte  Atiron- 
ta,  dont  fouuent  nous  auons  parl6  dans  nos  Relations 
precedentes,  lequel  ayant  hyuern^  k  Kebec  cette 
derniere  ann^e,  y  auoit  edifi^  tout  le  monde,  par 
I'iunocence  de  fa  vie,  &  par  I'exemple  de  les  vertus. 

Le  Pere  BrelTany  qui  nous  ramenoit  cette  troupe, 
auec  laquelle  il  eftoit  defcendu  des  Hurons  fur  la  fin 
de  rEft6  [96]  precedent,  fe  refueille  au  bruit  de  ces 
meurtres,  il  voit  k  fes  coftez  fes  compagnons,  qui 
defia  auoient  receu  le  coup  de  la  mort,  il  crie  aux 
armes,  &  tin  mefme  temps  il  re9oit  trois  coups  de 
fl6clie  dans  la  tefte,  qui  le  couurent  tout  de  fon  fang. 
On  accourt  au  fecours,  fix  Iroquois  furent  tuez  fur  la 
place,  deux  furent  pris  captifs/  les  deux  derniers 
n'en  pouuant  plus  lafchent  le  pied,  &  fe  fauuent  k  la 
fuite.      Voila  quels  font  nos  ennemis,   ils  font  fur 


?  I 


)  •■ 


1660J 


RELATION  OF  1649^0 


208 


to  reconnoiter  them.  Indeed,  they  were  bold 
enough,  ten  though  they  were,  to  attack  sixty.  It  is 
true  that  they  crept  in  under  favjr  of  a  dark  night, 
and  were  so  lucky  in  the  choice  of  their  route,  that 
the  sentinels  failed  to  perceive  them  until  they  were 
already  within  the  camp,  and  had  discharged  their 
death-blows  on  the  first  persons  they  encountered  in 
their  path,  every  one  being  asleep. 

It  seems  as  if  death  sought  only  good  Christians, 
and  the  pillars  of  our  Huron  Church.  They  killed 
seven  of  these  before  meeting  opposition, —  among 
others,  a  Captain  named  Jean  Baptiste  Atironta, — 
of  whom  we  have  often  spoken  in  our  preceding 
Relations, — who,  having  wintered  in  Kebec  that  last 
season,  had  edified  all  by  the  purity  of  his  life,  and 
his  virtuous  example. 

Father  Bressany,  who  was  bringing  back  to  us 
this  band, —  with  which  he  had  gone  down  from  the 
Huron  country,  toward  the  end  of  the  preceding 
Summer, —  [96]  awaking  at  the  noise  made  by  these 
murderers,  saw,  stretched  near  him,  his  companions 
who  had  already  received  the  death-blow.  He  cried, 
"  To  arms!  "  — and  at  the  same  time  received  three 
arrow-wounds  in  the  head,  which  covered  him  with 
blood.  Our  men  rushed  to  the  rescue.  Six  Iroquois 
were  slain  on  the  spot ;  two  were  taken  prisoners ;  the 
last  two,  powerless  to  do  more,  took  to  their  heels, 
and  saved  themselves  by  flight.  Such  are  our  ene- 
mies ;  they  are  upon  you  when  you  believe  them  to 
be  two  hundred  leagues  away,  and  at  the  same 
moment  vanish  from  your  sight,  if,  having  dealt 
their  blow,  they  purpose  a  retreat. 

The  company  which  had  met  us,  having  been  ap- 
prised of  the  overthrow  of  the  whole  Huron  nation. 


i. 


V^ 


111 


I 


1*. 


f 

I 


*1 


i 


J  ' 


204 


LES  RKLA  TJONS  DKS  /JiSUITES         [Vou  86 


vous,  lors  qu'on  les  croit  h.  deux  cents  lieues  de  Ik; 
&  au  meime  moment  ils  f'efuanouifTent  de  vos  yeux,  fi 
ayans  fait  leur  coup  ils  veulent  fonger  k  la  retraidle. 
Cette  troupe,  qui  nous  edt  au  rencontre:  ayant 
appris  la  defroute  de  tout  le  pais  des  Hurons,  prend 
deffein  de  retourner  deffus  fes  pas  Nous  fuiuons  done 
noftre  chemin.  Helas  que  ces  malheureux  Iroquois 
ont  cauf6  de  defolation  en  toutes  ces  contr6es !  Lorf- 
que  ie  montois  cette  grande  Riuiere,  il  n'y  a  que 
treze  ans:  ie  I'auois  veil  bord^e  de  quantity  de  peu- 
ple  de  la  langue  Algonquine,  qui  ne  connoiffoient  pas 
vn  Dieu:  &  lefquels  au  milieu  de  I'infidelit^  s'efli- 
moient  les  [97]  Dieux  de  la  terre :  voyans  que  rien  ne 
leur  manquoit,  dans  Tabondance  de  leurs  pefches,  de 
leurs  chafles,  &  du  commerce  qu'ils  auoient  auec 
leurs  nations  alli^es :  &  auec  celk,  ils  eftoient  la  ter- 
reur  de  leurs  ennemis.  Depuis  que  la  foy  eft  entree 
dans  leur  coeur,  &  qu'ils  ont  adore  la  Croix  de  lefus- 
Chrift;  il  leur  a  donn^  pour  partage  vne  partie  de 
cette  Croix  vrayement  pefante :  les  ayat  mis  en  proye 
aux  miferes,  aux  tourmens,  &  k  des  morts  cruelles, 
en  vn  mot,  c'eft  vn  peuple  effac6  de  deffus  la  terre. 
Nollre  vnique  confolation,  c'eft  qu'eftans  morts  Chre- 
ftiens,  ils  font  entrez  dans  le  partage  des  veritables 
enfans  de  Dieu.  Flagcllat  Deus  omnetn  filium  quern 
recipit. 


1    ■  I 


I' 


lU  86 

elk; 
IX,  fi 

lidle. 
lyant 
)rend 
done 
quois 
Lorf- 
a  que 
i  peu- 
nt  pas 
s'efti- 
ien  ne 
les,  de 
t  auec 
la  ter- 
entr6e 
;  lefus- 
irtie  de 
1  proye 
•uelles, 
a  terre. 
,s  Chre- 
ritables 
m   quent 


1660J 


RELA  TION  OF  164^-50 


206 


determined  to  retrace  their  steps;  so  we  pursued 
our  way.  Alas,  that  those  wretched  Iroquois  should 
have  caused  such  desolation  in  all  these  regions! 
When  I  ascended  the  great  River,  only  thirteen  years 
ago,  I  had  seen  it  bordered  with  large  numbers  of 
people  of  the  Algonquin  tongue,  who  knew  no  God. 
These,  in  the  midst  of  their  unbelief,  looked  upon 
themselves  as  the  [97]  Gods  of  the  earth,  for  the 
reason  that  nothing  was  lacking  to  them  in  the  rich- 
ness of  their  fisheries,  their  hunting-f^rounds,  and 
the  traffic  which  they  carried  on  with  allied  nations; 
add  to  which,  they  were  the  terror  of  their  enemies. 
Since  they  have  embraced  the  faith,  and  adored  the 
Cross  of  Jesus  Christ,  he  has  given  them,  as  their 
lot,  a  portion  of  that  Cross, —  verily  a  heavy  one, 
having  made  them  a  prey  to  miseries,  torments,  and 
cruel  deaths;  in  a  word,  they  are  a  people  wiped  off 
from  the  face  of  the  earth.  Our  sole  consolation  is 
that,  having  died  Christians,  they  have  entered  on 
the  heritage  of  true  children  of  God.  Flagellat  Deus 
omnem  Jilium  quern  recipit. 


\ 


..! ,- 


.  >■ 


,1^' 


I ' '' 

v/'' 


Xt' 


%    . 


i 


m 


206 


LES  RELATIONS  DES  jASUITES        [Vol.  35 


i 


w 


\ 


\  I 


CHAPITRE  IX. 

DE    L'ESTABLISSEMENT    DE     LA   COLONIE   HURONN    ,    A 

KEBEC. 

APRES  enuiron  cinquante  iournees,  d'vn  chemin 
tres  penible ;  dans  lequel  nous  fifmes  quantity 
de  nauf rages ;  plufieurs  de  nous  eftans  tombez 
dans  [98]  des  p  -ecipices  affreux,  &  dans  le  milieu  des 
abifmes;  d'oti  Dieu  nous  retiroit  d'vne  main  amou- 
reufe,  contre  nous  efperances:  enfin  nous  arriuafmes 
\  Kebec,  le  vint-huitiefme  de  luillet. 

Nous  anions  feiourne  deux  iours  a  Montreal,  o\x. 
nous  y  fufmes  receus  auec  vn  coeur  de  Charity  vraye- 
ment  Chreftienne.  C'efl  vn  lieu  auantageux  pour 
riiabitation  des  Sauuages.  Mais  cette  place  eftant 
frontiere  k  1' Iroquois,  que  nos  Hurons  fuyent  plus 
que  la  mort  mefme:  ils  ne  purent  pas  fe  refoudre  d'y 
commencer  leur  Colonie.  Si  i' Iroquois  pouuoit  eftre 
arrefte :  cette  Ifle  feroit  bien-toft  toute  peupl6e :  & 
mcxme  ie  ne  fuis  pas  hors  d'efperance,  qu'auant  I'Hy- 
uer  quelques  families  de  ces  bons  Chrefliens  fugitifs, 
n'y  aillent  faire  leur  demeure. 

C'eft  la  couilume  de  ces  Peuples,  mefme  des  Infi- 
deles,  lors  qu'vne  nation  fe  refugie  dansquelque  pais 
eftranger;  que  ceux  qui  les  rejoiuent  les  diftribuent 
incontinent  dans  diuerfes  maifons,  ou  non  feulement 
on  leur  donne  le  gifte,  mais  auffi  les  neceffitez  de  la 
vie,  auec  vne  Charitd  qui  n'a  rien  de  barbare:  &  [99] 
qui  vn  iour  fera  honte  a  quantity  de  peuples,  qui 


I 


1650] 


RELA  TION  OF  ib4g-so 


207 


CHAPTER  IX. 

OF   THE   ESTABLISHMENT   OF   THE    HURON   COLONY   AT 

KEBEC. 

AFTER  about  fifty  days  of  a  most  distressing 
journey  in  which  many  wrecks  befell  us,— 
several  of  us  having  fallen  over  [98]  frightful 
precipices,  and  into  yawning  gulfs,  from  which  God 
contrary  to  our  expectations,  withdrew  us  with  a 
hand  of  love,— at  length  we  arrived  at  Kebec,  on 
the  twenty-eighth  day  of  July. 

We  had  remained  two  days  at  Montreal,  where  we 
were  received  with  a  heart  of  Charity  truly  Chris- 
tian.    It  is  a  locality  possessing  advantages  as  a  set- 
tlement for  Savages.     But  as  it  is  an  advanced  post 
toward  the  Iroquois,  from  whom  the  Hurons  iiee  more 
than  from  death  itself,  they  could  not  bring  them- 
selves to  establish  there  their  Colony.    If  the  Iroquois 
could  be  checked,  that  Island  would   be  soon  peo- 
pled; and    I    am   even   not  without  the  hope  that 
before  Winter,  some  families  of  these  good  Christian 
fugitives  will  go  there,  and  make  it  their  abode. 

It  is  customary  with  these  Peoples,  even  with  the 
Unbelievers,  that,  when  a  nation  seek  refuge  in 
any  foreign  country,  those  who  receive  them  imme- 
diately distribute  them  over  different  households. 
Therein,  they  not  only  give  them  lodging,  but  the 
necessities  of  life  as  well,  with  a  Charity  savoring 
m  nothing  of  the  savage,  [99]  which  will  one  day 
put  to  shame  many  peoples  who  have  been  born  to 


r 


208  LES  RELATIONS  DES  J&SUITES         [Vol.35 


r 


i 


4\ 


font  nez  dans  le  Chriftianifme.  Fay  veu  dans  les 
Hurons  pratiquer  tres-fouuent  cette  hofpitalit^ :  autant 
de  fois  que  nous  y  auons  veu  des  nations  defol^es, 
des  bourgs  ruinez,  &  quelque  peuple  fugitif,  fept  & 
huit  cent  perfonnes  trouuoient  d6s  leur  abord,  des 
hoftes  charitables,  qui  leur  tendoient  les  bras,  qui 
les  fecouroient  auec  ioye,  &  qui  mefme  leur  diftri- 
buoient  vne  partie  des  terres  defia  enfemenc^es,  afin 
qu'ils  pulTent  viure,  quoy  qu'en  vn  pais  eflranger, 
comme  dans  leur  Patrie. 

Nos  Hurons  fe  promettoient  au  moins,  vne  partie 
de  c^t  accueil,  eftans  arriuez  "k  Kebec  Les  Religieufes 
Hofpitalieres  ouurirent  incontinent  &  leur  coeur,  & 
leurs  mains,  &  le  fein  de  leur  Charity :  non  feulement 
pour  les  malades :  mais  auffi  pour  quelques  vnes  de 
ces  pauures  families,  que  la  famine  pourfuiuoit.  Les 
Vrfulines  pareillement,  auec  leur  bonne  fondatrice, 
Madame  de  la  Peltrie,  ont  entrepris  en  ce  rencontre, 
au  deffus  de  leurs  forces:  mais  non  pas  au  deflus  de 
leur  confiance  qu'elles  ont  en  Dieu,  elles  fe  charge- 
rent  [lOo]  incontinent  d'vne  famille  tres-nombreufe : 
la  premiere  qui  dans  le  pais  des  Hurons  ayt  embraffe 
la  foy.  Leur  feminaire  fut  ouuert  a  de  petites  filles, 
qui  accreurent  leur  nombre,  &  le  zele  de  ces  bonnes 
Meres,  ne  trouuant  point  quafi  de  bornes,  leurs  clafles 
s'ouurirent  auffi  ^  quantite  d'externes;  qu'elles 
inftruifent  du  Catechifme,  en  lancrue  Huronne:  & 
aufquelles  elles  donnent  ^  manger:  ellendant  ainfi 
leurs  Charites  en  mefme  temps  &  fur  les  corps,  &  iur 
les  ames.  Trois  ou  quatre  perfonnes  des  plus  confi- 
derables,  fe  font  chargez  auffi,  chacun  du  foin  d'vne 
famille.  Mais  apres  tout,  il  eft  reft6  plus  de  deux 
cents  de  ces  pauures  Chreftiens,  qui  n'ont  pen  trouuer 


'  'I 


Vol.  85 

,ns  les 
autant 
[ol^es, 
fept  & 
•d,  des 
as,  qui 
diftri- 
2S,  afin 
•anger. 

;  partie 
gieufes 
oeur,  & 
lement 
^nes  de 
t.     Les 
datrice, 
icontre, 
effus  de 
charge- 
breuf e : 
|mbraff6 
s  filles, 
bonnes 
claffes 
u'elles 
nne :   & 
Int  ainfi 
|s,  &  lur 
s  confi- 
In  d'vne 
.e  deux 
trouuer 


1650] 


RELA  TION  OF  164^-50 


209 


Christianity.  I  have  very  often  seen  this  hospitality 
practiced  among  the  Hurons, — as  many  times  as  we 
have  seen  nations  devastated,  or  villages  destroyed, 
or  when  some  fugitive  people,  seven  or  eight  hundred 
persons,  would  find,  from  the  time  of  their  arrival, 
benevolent  hosts,  who  stretched  out  to  them  their 
arms,  and  assisted  them  with  joy :  who  would  even 
divide  among  them  a  share  in  lands  already  sown,  in 
order  that  they  might  be  able  to  live,  although  in  a 
foreign  country,  as  in  their  own. 

Our  Hurons  promised  themselves  a  part  at  least  in 
this  welcome.  On  their  arrival  at  Kebec,  the  Hos- 
pital Nuns  opened  to  them  immediately  their  hearts, 
their  hands,  and  the  bosom  of  their  Charity, — not 
only  on  behalf  of  the  sick,  but  also  for  some  of  the 
indigent  families,  whom  famine  still  pursued.  The 
Ursulines  likewise,  together  with  their  good  found- 
ress, Madame  de  la  Peltrie,  undertook  for  them,  in 
this  emergency,  beyond  their  powers,  but  not  in 
advance  of  the  trust  they  reposed  in  God.  They 
took  immediate  charge  [100]  of  a  very  numerous 
family, — the  first  who,  in  the  Huron  country,  had 
embraced  the  faith.  They  threw  open  their  semi- 
nary to  some  little  girls,  which  swelled  their  number, 
and  the  zeal  of  these  good  Mothers  knew  almost  no 
bounds.  Their  classes  were  opened  to  a  number  of 
day-scholars,  whom  they  instructed  in  the  Catechism, 
and  the  Huron  tongue,  and  to  whom  they  gave 
food, —  extending  thus  their  Charities  at  the  same 
time  to  both  their  bodies  and  souls.  Three  or  four 
of  the  more  prominent  citizens  charged  themselves 
each  with  the  care  of  a  family.  But  after  all,  there 
remained  more  than  two  hundred  of  these  poor  Chris- 
tians who  were  unable  to  find  any  help  in  the  famine 


^11 


Ai 


■•    > 


1  V 


i 


r 


I 


210 


LES  RELATIONS  DES  J&SUITES         [Vol.  35 


1  'i' 

i 

i 


[,s 


\ 


I 


A 


aucun  fecours,  dans  la  famine  qui  les  prefle,  &  qui 
les  fuit  par  tout. 

le  prie  Noftre  Seigneur  de  donner  les  veritables 
fentimes  d'vne  charity  vrayement  Chreftienne,  k  tous 
ceux  qui  ont  vne  fi  riche  occafion  de  la  pratiquer. 
En  attendant  qu'on  puilTe  faire  dauantage:  &  quoy 
qu'il  coufte,  nous  tafcherons  comme  leurs  Peres,  de 
fubuenir  k  leurs  necefTitez.  Par  les  chemins,  nous 
les  auons  nourris,  dans  leur  propre  pais,  [loi]  Dieu 
nous  fourniiToit  les  moyens  de  foulager  vne  partie  de 
leurs  miferes.  Nous  auons  refpandu  pour  eux  noftre 
fang  &  nos  vies,  pourrions  nous  apres  cela  leur  refu- 
fer  ce  qui  eft  hors  de  nous,  qui  puiffe  eftre  en  nollre 
pouuoir?  lis  viennent  tous  les  iours  querir  chez 
nous,  la  portion  qu'on  leur  diftribue,  ils  fe  font 
baftys  eux-mefmes  leurs  cabanes,  ils  tafcheront  par 
leur  trauail  de  cherclier  quelque  partie  de  leur 
nourriture.  Si  apres  nous  eftre  efpuiffez,  nous  nous 
voyons  dans  rimpuiffance  de  continuer  nos  charitez, 
&  qu'ils  meurent  icy  de  famine,  proche  de  nos  Fran- 
cois; au  moins  aurons-nous  cette  confolation,  qu'ils 
y  mourront  Chreftiens. 

Mais  la  famine  n'eft  pas  le  mal  qui  foit  le  plus  k 
craindre.  Celt  la  terreur  des  Iroquois,  qui  mena- 
cent  toutes  ces  contrees,  qui  font  fentir  par  tout  leur 
barbarie,  &  qui  de  plus  en  plus  vont  continuans  leur 
rage,  non  feulement  contre  les  reftes  des  Algonquins 
&  des  Hurons :  mais  tournent  maintenant  le  poids  de 
leur  fureur  contre  nos  habitations  Franjoifes. 

II  n'y  a  que  fort  peu  de  iours,  qu'vne  [102]  autre 
bande  de  vingt-cinq  ^  trente  Iroquois,  eurent  bien 
I'afleurance  d'attaquer  en  plein  iour,  proche  des 
Trois  Riuieres,  plus  de  foixante  de  nos  gens,  qui  les 


;^0L.  36 
&  qui 

.tables 

k  tous 
:iquer. 
;:  quoy 
res,  de 
J,  nous 
]  Dieu 
Ttie  de 

noftre 
ir  refu- 
L  noftre 
ir   cliez 
fe    font 
ont  par 
ie    leur 
us  nous 
haritez, 
)S  Fran- 
1,  qu'ils 

e  plus  k 
mena- 
out  leur 
ans  leur 
onquins 
Doids  de 

2]  autre 
;nt  bien 
:he  des 
qui  les 


1650] 


RELA  TION  OF  1649-30 


211 


that  pressed  hard  upon  them,  and  followed  them 
everywhere. 

I  pray  Our  Lord  to  grant  genuine  feelings  of  a 
truly  Christian  charity  to  all  those  who  have  so  rich 
an  opportunity  for  putting  it  in  practice.  Until  more 
can  be  done,  we,  as  their  Fathers,  shall  endeavor,  at 
whatever  cost,  to  provide  for  their  necessities.  On 
their  journey  down,  we  had  fed  them ;  in  their  own 
country,  [loi]  God  had  given  us  the  means  of  allevi- 
ating, in  part,  their  miseries.  For  them  we  shed  our 
blood,  and  spent  our  lives;  could  we  after  that, 
refuse  to  them,  so  far  as  might  be  in  our  power,  that 
which  was  extraneous  to  us?  They  come  every  day 
to  our  house  for  the  allowance  that  is  served  out  to 
them ;  they  themselves  have  built  their  cabins,  and 
they  will  try  by  their  labor  to  provide  for  themselves 
a  part  of  their  support.  If,  after  having  exhausted 
our  resources,  we  find  ourselves  powerless  to  con- 
tinue our  charities,  and  behold  them  dying  here  of 
famine,  close  to  our  Frenchmen,  there  remains  to  us 
at  least  this  consolation,  that  they  will  die  Christians. 

But  the  famine  is  not  the  evil  which  is  most  to  be 
feared.  There  is  the  terror  of  the  Iroquois,  wuo  are 
threatening  all  these  regions ;  who  everywhere  make 
their  barbarity  felt;  who  are  venting  their  rage,  more 
and  more  fiercely,  not  only  against  the  remnants  of 
the  Algonquins  and  Hurons,  but  are  directing  now 
the  weight  of  their  fury  against  our  French  settle- 
ments. 

Only  a  very  few  days  ago,  [102]  another  band  of 
some  twenty-five  or  thirty  Iroquois  had  the  extreme 
audacity  to  attack,  in  open  day,  near  Three  Rivers, 
more  than  sixty  of  our  people,  who  had  gone  in  quest 
of  them.     These  miscreants  lay,  waist-deep,  in  the 


iir 


Hi 


.li 


212 


LES  RELATIONS  DES  /^SUITES         [Vol.  36 


iff 


f 


4  i 


« 


f 


li 


•^ 


alloient  chercher  Ces  mal-heureux  font  a  demy- 
corps  dans  la  bouS,  dans  des  marets,  &  cachez  dans 
des  ioncs;  d'ou  ils  font  leur  d^charge,  &  ou  on  ne 
pent  pas  les  aborder.  Se  voyans  trop  preffez,  ils 
prennent  la  fuyte,  &  s'embarquent  dans  leurs  canots. 
Nos  gens  ne  peuuent  pas  toufiours  marcher  de  com- 
pagnie;  plufieurs  demeurent  en  arriere.  Les  Iroquois 
les  voyans  defunys,  tournent  vifage,  &  combattent 
contre  ceux  qui  font  auancez  des  premiers :  quand  ils 
voyent  qu'on  fe  reiinit,  ils  reprennent  la  fuyte  aucc 
ordre;  &  apres  quelque  temps,  ils  reprennent  aufTi 
le  combat:  en  vn  mot,  ce  font  des  Prot^es  qui 
changent  de  face  k  tout  moment;  &  on  ne  doit  pas 
croire  qu'ils  foient  &  fans  conduite,  &  fans  courage. 

Nous  perdifmes  en  ce  rencontre  quelques-vns  de 
nos  meilleurs  Soldats:  d'autres  furent  grieuement 
bleffez.  Les  Iroquois  fe  voyans  trop  viuement 
preffez,  firent  vne  retraite,  auec  vn  ordre,  qui  [103] 
n'eut  rien  de  barbare.  Auffi,  leur  condudteur,  &  le 
chef  de  ces  ennemis  de  la  foy,  eftoit  vn  Hollandois; 
ou  plultoft  I'abomination  d'vn  peche,  &  vn  monftre 
produit,  d'vn  Pere  Hollandois  Heretique,  &  d'vne 
Payenne. 

lufques  k  quand  Dieu  permettra-il  qu'on  face  vne 
terre  d'horreur,  d'vn  pais  qui  fans  ces  Barbares  ne 
feroit  que  benedic5lion.  Car  n'euft  eft6  leur  cruaut^, 
le  nom  de  Dieu  auroit  penetr6  bien  auat  dans  vn 
grand  nombre  de  peuples  infideles,  qui  reftent  encore 
^  conuertir;  La  Croix  de  lefus-Chrift  fe  feroit  iour, 
au  milieu  des  tenebres  du  Paganifme  qui  y  regne,  & 
le  Paradis  s'ouuriroit  k  vn  million  de  pauures  Ames, 
qui  n'ont  que  I'enfer  pour  partage. 

Nous  attendons  auant  I'Hyuer  trois  cent  Chreftiens 


"    i 


-f*l  ■< 


I 


1650] 


/i£LA  TION  OF  1649  so 


213 


mud  and  marshes,  and  hidden  by  the  rushes,  whence 
they  discharged  their  firearms,  and  where  they 
could  not  be  approached.  Finding  themselves  too 
much  pressed,  they  took  to  flight,  and  embarked  in 
their  canoes.  Our  people  cannot  always  march  to- 
gether; many  remain  in  the  rear.  The  Iroquois,  see- 
ing them  disunited,  turned  face,  and  fought  against 
those  who  were  the  most  advanced.  Perceiving  the 
forces  reunited,  they  again  took  to  flight  in  good 
order,  and,  after  a  while,  returned  again  to  the  com- 
bat. In  a  word,  they  are  Proteuses,  who  change 
their  appearance  every  moment;  and  it  should  not 
be  supposed  that  they  lack  either  generalship  or 
courage. 

We  lost,  in  this  encounter,  some  of  our  best  Sol- 
diers; others  were  grievously  wounded.  The  Iro- 
quois, finding  themselves  too  hotly  pressed,  effected 
a  retreat,  with  an  order  which  [103]  indicated 
nothing  of  the  savage;  moreover,  their  commander, 
the  most  prominent  among  these  enemies  of  the 
faith,  was  a  Hollander, — or,  rather,  an  execrable  issue 
of  sin,  the  monstrous  offspring  of  a  Dutch  Heretic 
Father  and  a  Pagan  woman. ^ 

How  long  will  God  allow  to  be  transformed  into  a 
land  of  horror  a  country  which,  without  these  Bar- 
barians, would  be  a  blessed  land?  For,  had  it  not 
been  for  their  cruelty,  the  name  of  God  would  have 
penetrated  far  among  a  great  number  of  unbelieving 
peoples  who  still  remain  to  be  converted.  The  Cross 
of  Jesus  Christ  would  have  brought  the  light  of  day 
into  the  darkness  of  the  Paganism  that  now  reigns 
amo ag  them,  and  Paradise  would  have  opened  its 
gate  to  a  million  of  poor  Souls,  who  now  have  only 
hell  for  their  portion. 


IJi 


i-<  ■ 


*■ 


11  , 


i 


^;  i 


r 


214 


LES  RELA  TIONS  DES  JASUITES         [Vol.  36 


Hurons,  qui  viendront  accroiftre  noftre  Colonie  com- 
menc^e:  fix  cents  hommes  de  la  Nation  Neutre, 
nous  ont  fait  porter  la  parole,  qu'ils  viendroient 
I'Efl^  prochain,  nous  demander  des  armes  &  du 
fecours,  ayans  maintenant  guerre  ouuerte  auec  les 
Iroquois,  en  mefme  temps,  il  faudroit  fondre  fur  c^t 
ennemy  de  la  foy,  &  [104]  trouuer  les  moyens  de 
leur  porter  la  guerre  dans  leur  propre  pais.  En  vne 
ann^e  de  bon  fuccez;  &  apres  vn  effort,  digne  du 
zele  que  tant  de  faintes  Ames  ont  pour  la  conuerfion 
des  Sauuages.  on  auroit  extermine  cette  poign^e  de 
gens,  qui  ne  viuent  que  pour  renuerfer  les  ouurages 
de  Dieu. 

Apres  celk,  nos  efperances  refloriroient,  &  la  gloire 
de  nos  Eglifes,  feroit  encore  plus  grande,  que  n'a 
elt6  I'innocence  &  la  faintete  de  celles,  dont  nous 
deplorons  maintenant  les  mines. 

Mais  puis  que  nous  parlous  de  reil:abliffement 
d'vne  Colonie  Huronne  k  Kebec,  mettons  en  fuitte 
quelques  Chapitres  des  Sauuages  circonuoifms,  affoi- 
blis,  en  terre  par  les  mefmes  ennemis,  &  par  les 
mefmes  perfecutions,  &  fortifies  pour  le  Ciel  par  vne 
mefme  creance. 


%' 


> 


% 


^\. 


1660] 


RELA  TION  OF  164^-30 


215 


We  expect,  before  Winter,  three  hundred  Chris- 
tian Hurons,  who  are  to  come  to  swell  our  new 
Colony.  Six  hundred  of  the  Neutral  Nation  have 
sent  us  word  that  they  are  coming,  next  Summer,  tu 
solicit  from  us  arms  and  help,  being  now  in  open 
war  with  the  Iroquois.  Meanwhile,  measures  must 
be  taken  to  strike  at  that  enemy  of  the  faith,  and 
[104]  to  find  means  of  carrying  the  war  into  their 
own  country.  One  successful  year  would  be  enough ; 
and,  after  an  effort  worthy  of  the  zeal  that  so  many 
saintly  Souls  possess  for  the  conversion  of  the  Sav- 
ages, this  handful  of  people,  who  only  live  to  des-roy 
the  works  of  God,  would  be  exterminated. 

After  that,  our  hopes  would  bloom  again,  and  the 
glory  of  our  Churches  would  be  even  greater  than  the 
spotless  lives  and  sanctity  of  those  whose  ruin  we 
now  deplore. 

But,  since  we  are  speaking  of  the  establishment  of 
a  Huron  Colony  at  Kebec,  let  us  devote  a  few  Chap- 
ters to  the  Savages  who  are  round  about  us, —  en- 
feebled on  earth  by  the  same  enemies  and  the  same 
persecutions,  but  strengthened  by  Heaven  with  the 
same  belief. 


J 


H 


i1 


|i! 


•1 


i 


r 


216 


LES  RELATIONS  DES /^SUITES         [Vol.  36 


, 


1 

1 

1 
1 

f 

1 

\ 

! 

t  . 

'  i 

1 
1 

■  1 

i! 


\: 


[105]  CHAPITRE  X. 
DE  l'eglise  de  sainct  ioseph  a  sillery. 

CETTE  Eglife  n'a  pas  eft6  exempte  des  calami- 
tez,  qui  comme  vn  torrent  ont  inondd  le  pauure 
pais  des  Hurons.  On  nous  efcrit  d' Europe, 
que  lesmalheurs  font  ^i  vniuerfels,  qu'ondiroit  quafi, 
que  les  columnes  de  I'Vniuers  font  esbranl^es.  Nous 
auons  cette  confolation  dans  nos  miferes,  que  noftre 
creance,  eft  bien  fouuent  noftre  grand  crime,  &  que 
la  guerre  d'vn  Eftat  tout  barbare,  eft  quafi  chang^e 
en  vne  guerre  Sainc5te.  Car  la  plus  part  de  nos 
Chreftiens,  ne  prennent  les  armes  depuis  quelque 
temps,  que  pour  conferuer  le  Chriftianifme  dans  leurs 
nouuelles  Eglifes.  Or  comme  les  Croix  font  le  fonde- 
ment  de  la  Religion,  &  que  Dieu  n'a  point  detruit 
fon  Eglife  par  les  perfecutions,  nous  efperons  que 
les  guerres,  les  famines,  [106]  &  les  martyres,  qui 
peuplent  1' Eglife  triomphante  de  nos  bons  Chreftiens, 
n'abifmeront  pas  ces  pauures  Eglifes  militantes  & 
fouffrantes.  Les  fleuues  qui  fe  cachent  fous  terre, 
ne  font  pas  perdus;  ils  en  fortent  auec  I'eftonnement 
de  ceux  qui  en  ignorent  la  fource  &  I'origine:  mais 
entrons  en  difcours. 

Vne  troupe  de  Chreftiens  de  faindt  lofeph,  s'eftants 
ioints  ce  Prin-temps  auec  quelques  Sauuages  des 
Trois  Riuieres,  &  auec  quelques  Hurons,  k  deffein, 
comme  ils  difent  d'aller  coupper  les  pieds  k  quelques- 
vns  de  leurs  ennemis,  afin  d'empefcher  qu'ils  ne  les 


"1/ 


1650] 


RELA  TION  OF  1649-50 


217 


iftants 
s   des 

effein, 
Iques- 
ne  les 


[105]  CHAPTER  X. 

OF   TIIK    CHURCH    OF   SAINT   JOSEPH   AT   SILLERY. 

THIS  Church  has  not  been  exempted  from  the 
calamities  which,  like  a  torrent,  have  over- 
whelmed the  poor  country  of  the  Hurons. 
They  wrote  to  us  from  Europe  that  misfortunes  are 
so  universal  that  they  could  almost  say  that  the  pillars 
of  the  Universe  are  being  shaken.  We  have  this 
consolation,  in  our  own  miseries,  that  our  belief  is 
very  often  our  great  crime ;  and  that  war,  undertaken 
against  a  barbarous  Nation  is  almost  changed  into  a 
Holy  war.  For  the  greater  number  of  our  Chris- 
dans  have  not  taken  up  arms  for  some  time,  except 
for  the  preservation  of  Christianity  in  our  new 
Churches.  Now,  as  Crosses  form  the  foundation  of 
Religion,  and  as  God  has  never  destroyed  his  Church 
by  persecutions,  we  hope  that  wars,  famines,  [106] 
and  martyrdoms,  which  are  peopling  the  Church 
triumphant  of  our  good  Christians,  will  not  swallow 
up  these  poor  Churches  which  are  militant  and  suffer- 
ing. Streams  that  hide  themselves  under  the  earth 
are  not  lost;  they  burst  out  from  it,  to  the  astonish- 
ment of  those  who  are  ignorant  of  their  source  and 
origin.     But  let  us  begin  with  our  subject. 

A  band  of  Christians  from  saint  Joseph  having 
joined,  this  Spring,  some  Savages  of  Three  Rivers, 
and  a  few  Hurons, —  with  the  design,  as  they  say, 
of  cutting  off  the  feet  of  some  of  their  enemies,  so  as 
to  prevent  these  from  coming  to  disturb  them  at  their 


l>] 


k 


if 


^ 


II 

1 


f 


M 


^ 


J  A 


218 


LKS  RELA  TIONS  DES  JllSUITES         [Vol.  85 


vinffent  troubler  dans  leurs  prieres,  rencontrerent  vn 
Iroquois  en  leur  chemin,  dont  ils  fe  faifirent.  Quel- 
ques-vns  fe  voulant  contenter  de  cette  proye,  leur 
Capitaine  nomm(j  lean  xtagSainH,  homme  grand  & 
puiffant,  tres  bon  Chrertien  &  fort  vaillant,  repartit 
qu'il  falloit  approcher  des  bourgades  Hiroquoifes,  & 
tacher  d'cn  furprendre  quelqu'vne :  Ils  auancent  done 
^  la  fourdine,  enuoyant  deuant  eux  vn  Algonquin  & 
vn  Huron,  pour  reconnoiftre  fi  I'ennemy  n'elt  point 
en  campagne.  Le  Huron  fit  rencontre  d'vne  trouppe 
[107]  d' Iroquois,  fe  voyant  furpris,  il  fait  bonne 
mine,  &  pour  fauuer  fa  vie,  il  cornit  vne  lafchet^  & 
vne  trahifon  tres-horrible.  Voilk  qui  va  bien,  que 
ie  vous  aye  rencontrd,  dit-il,  aux  Iroquois,  il  y  ,\, 
long-temps,  mes  freres,  que  ie  vous  cherchois,  ils  luy 
demandent  ou  il  alloit,  ie  m'en  vay,  dit-il,  en  mon 
pais,  chercher  mes  parens  &  mes  amis :  le  pais  des 
Hurons  n'eft  plus  ou  il  eftoit,  vous  I'auez  tranfport6 
dans  le  vollre,  c'ert  1^  oil  ie  m'en  allois  pour  me 
ioindre  a  mes  parens  &  h  mes  compatriotes,  qui 
ne  font  plus  qu'vn  peuple  auec  vous.  Ie  me  fuis 
efchappe  des  ombres  qui  rellent  encore  d'vn  peuple 
qui  n'eft  plus.  T'6s  tu  mis  en  chemin  tout  feul,  luy 
demadent-ils?  Non  pas,  refpond-il,  i'ay  pris  I'occa- 
fion  d'vne  bande  d'Algonquins,  qui  vous  viennent 
chercher;  ie  me  fuis  ^carte  d'eux  de  teps  en  temps, 
pour  rencontrer  quelques-vns  du  pais  ou  ie  me  vay 
rendre,  afin  de  les  liurer  entre  leurs  mains.  Les 
Iroquois  treflaillans  d'aife  k  cette  nouuelle,  fe  raffem- 
blent  &  s'en  vont  fous  la  conduite  de  ce  ludas, 
furpredre  nos  pauures  Algoquins,  qui  fe  fians  trop 
fur  leurs  efpions,  ou  fur  leurs  Ddcouureurs,  comme 
ils  les  nomment,   [108]   n'attendoient  pas  vne  falue 


[Vol.  85 


•cnt  vn 

Quel- 
e,  leiir 
and  & 
repartit 
)ifes,  & 
nt  done 
iquin  & 
(t  point 
trouppe 

bonne 
chet6  & 
[en,  que 

il  y  .'. 
i,  ils  luy 
en  mon 
pais  des 
anfport6 
50iir  me 
tes,  qui 
me  fuis 
1  peuple 

eul,  luy 

I'occa- 
aennent 

temps, 

me  vay 
Les 

raffem- 
ludas, 

ans  trop 
comme 

ne  falue 


IS. 


^       V 


^ 
lU 


6.     i 


St 


c/j 

u 
< 


I 


J 


■h 


11 

1  !' 

1 

i 
t 

'.1 

f 

f           * 

. 

» 

, '     ' 

» 

I 

1 

r 

V4i 


ii    4: 


1650  J 


RELA  TION  OF  1649-50 


219 


prayers, — encountered  an  Iroquois  on  tho  way,  whom 
they  made  prisoner.  Some  of  them  being  willing  to 
content  themselves  with  that  prey,  their  Chief,  named 
Jean  Outagwainou, — a  tall  and  poweiful  man,  a  very 
good  Christian,  and  exceedingly  valiant,  —  replied 
that  they  ought  to  push  on  to  the  Hiroquois  villages, 
and  endeavor  to  surprise  some  one  of  them.  They 
pressed  forward,  therefore,  stealthily,  sending  out  an 
Algonquin  and  a  Huron,  to  ascertain  if  the  enemy 
were  in  the  field.  The  Huron  encountered  a  band 
[107]  of  Iroquois,  and,  finding  that  he  was  perceived, 
assumed  a  friendly  guise,  and,  to  save  his  own  life, 
was  guilty  of  most  horrible  cowardice  and  treachery. 
' '  How  lucky  that  I  have  met  you !  ' '  said  he  to  the 
Iroquois;  "  for  a  long  time,  my  brothers,  I  have  been 
seeking  you."  They  asked  him  where  he  was  going, 
and  he  replied,  "  I  am  going  to  my  country,  to  seek 
out  my  relatives  and  friends.  The  country  of  the 
Hurons  is  no  long'^r  where  it  was, —  you  have  trans- 
ported it  into  your  own :  it  is  there  that  I  was  going, 
to  join  my  relatives  and  compatriots,  who  are  now 
but  one  people  with  yourselves:  I  have  ccaped  from 
the  phantoms  of  a  people  who  are  no  more."  "  Art 
thou  journeying  by  this  way,  all  alone?"  they  asked 
him.  "No,"  replied  he;  "I  took  the  opportunity 
of  coming  with  a  band  of  Algonquins,  who  are  now 
seeking  you.  I  have  wandered  away  from  them, 
from  time  to  time,  in  order  to  meet  some  people  of 
the  country  to  which  I  am  going,  that  I  may  deliver 
myself  into  their  hands."  The  Iroquois,  trembling 
with  joy  at  this  news,  gathered  themselves  together; 
and,  proceeaing  under  the  guidance  of  that  Judas, 
surprised  our  poor  Algonquins,  who  —  trusting  too 
much  to  their  spies,  or  their  Uncoverers,  as  they  call 


% 


^h 


\ 


h 


220 


LES  RELA  TIONS  DES  /^SUITES  [Vol.  35 


i! 


m 


\ 

ti     \ 

J     ^ 

1 


\ 


d'arquebufes  qui  les  mit  en  d^route,  plulieurs  y  per- 
dirent  la  vie,  quelques-vns  fe  fauueret  k  la  faueur 
des  bois,  vn  bon  nobre  fut  mis  dans  les  liens  pour 
eftre  la  cur^e  de  ces  matins,  noftre  Capitaine 
Chreftien  fe  battit  auec  vne  generofit6  qui  donna 
de  I'eftonnement  k  I'ennemy  mefme:  Les  iugemens 
de  Dieu  font  pleins  d  abyfmes. 

Le  traiftre  ayant  demeur^  quelque  teps  auec  les 
Iroquois,  eut  bien  la  hardieffe  de  retourner  vers  les 
Franoois  &  vers  les  Algonquins,  pour  tramer,  k  ce 
qu'on  croit  vne  autre  trahifon,  fa  premiere  ayant  li 
bien  reiiffi  fans  eftre  d6couuerte ;  mais  Dieu  qui  eft 
iufte,  ne  permit  pas  qu'vne  adtio  C  noire  fut  bien 
long-temps  cach^e.  Les  Algonquins  qui  retournerent 
de  cette  d^faite  plus  morts  que  vifs,  ayans  declare  k 
leurs  amis  les  foupjons  qu'ils  auoient  de  ce  Huron, 
on  I'interrogsa  fur  ce  fait,  il  parut  cbanceler,  on  le 
pre  fie  de  dire  la  verity,  enfin  il  auoue  fon  crime, 
confefTant  ingenuement  que  1' amour  de  la  vie,  & 
la  crainte  de  la  mort,  I'auoit  iett6  dans  cette  mal- 
heureufe  d61oiaut6. 

Monfieur  le  Gouuerneur  le  fit  apprebender,  [109] 
&  apres  auoir  eft6  conuaincu  d'vne  trahifon  fi  noire, 
il  fut  condamn6  k  mort,  &  liur6  entre  les  mains  de 
fes  gens  mefme,  pour  en  faire  I'executio.  On  penfa 
premierement  au  falut  de  fon  ame,  &  puis  on  I'atta- 
cha  au  pilory  plante  deuant  le  fort  des  Franjois,  ou 
parut  vn  Huron  arme  d'vne  hacbe,  qui  luy  dit,  tu 
merite  la  mort  pour  auoir  trahy  nos  amis  &  nos 
alliez, ;  il  eft  vray,  refpond  le  coulpable,  tuez-moy, 
le  Huron  luy  d^charge  vn  coup  de  hache  fur  la  tefte, 
qui  ne  I'affomma  pas,  il  redouble  iufques  k  trois  fois, 
&  le  met  k  mort.     Voila  le  payement  de  fa  trahifon : 


it! 


1650J 


RELA  TION  OF  16419-50 


221 


them  —  [108]  were  not  expecting  a  salute  of  arque- 
buses, which  put  them  to  rout.  Many  lost  their 
lives;  some  saved  themselves,  under  cover  of  the 
forest;  a  large  number  were  bound,  to  become  the 
quarry  of  those  curs.  Our  Christian  Captain  fought 
with  a  heroism  that  astonished  the  very  enemy. 
The  judgments  of  God  are  unfathomable. 

The  traitor,  having  dwelt  some  time  with  the 
Iroquois,  had  actuallv  the  hardihood  to  return  to  the 
French  and  Algonquins,  in  order  to  plot,  as  it  was 
believed,  another  treason,  the  former  having  suc- 
ceeded so  well  without  being  discovered.  But  God, 
who  is  just,  will  not  permit  that  an  action  so  black 
should  be  long  hidden.  The  Algonquins,  who 
returned  from  that  defeat  more  dead  than  alive, 
having  made  knov/n  to  their  friends  their  suspicions  of 
the  Huron,  he  was  questioned  on  the  circumstance. 
He  seemed  to  waver ;  they  pressed  him  to  tell  the 
truth.  At  length,  he  avowed  his  crime, — -frankly 
confessing  that  love  of  life  and  fear  of  death  had 
impelled  him  to  that  wretched  act  of  perfidy. 

Monsieur  the  Governor  caused  him  to  be  appre- 
hended; [109]  and,  after  having  been  convicted  of 
so  foul  a  treachery,  he  was  condemned  to  death,  and 
delivered  into  the  hands  of  his  own  people  for  execu- 
tion. They  bethought  themselves  first  of  the  salva- 
tion of  his  soul :  then  they  fastened  him  to  the  pillory 
erected  in  front  of  the  French  fort,  where  a  Huron 
drew  near,  armed  with  a  hatchet,  who  said  to  him : 
"  Thou  deservest  death,  for  having  betrayed  our 
friends  and  our  allies."  "It  is  true,"  replied  the 
culprit;  "  kill  me."  The  Huron  then  dealt  upon  his 
head  a  blow  with  the  hatchet,  which  did  not  finish 
him ;  repeating  it  three  or  four  times,  he  was  put  to 


1, 


I 


! 


'h' 


I  -'k 


4        K' 


t 


» 


'  T 


222 


LES  RELATIONS  DES /^SUITES         [Vol.35 


W  ] 


i 


-  \ 


'h 


N 


r 

\ 

1 

wtf- 

^'W 

1 

1 

mais  difons  deux  mcts  de  nos  pauures  Chreftiens 
conduits  au  pais  des  feux  &  des  flammes,  nous  n'en 
f9auons  encor  que  peu  de  chofe,  mais  ce  peu  eft  bien 
remarquable. 

Deux  Huros  captifs,  ^chapp6s  des  raains  des  Iro- 
quois, ayas  veu  les  horribles  tourmens  qu'on  a  fait 
foufifrir  S  ces  pauures  vidlimes,  nous  ont  combl^  de 
douleur  &  de  ioye.  lis  difent,  que  ces  bons  Neo- 
phytes chantoient  les  loiianges  de  Dieu,  au  milieu 
des  flammes;  qu'il  fembloit  que  le  Ciel,  fur  lequel 
lis  iettoient  incefsament  les  yeux,  leur  donoit  plus 
de  cotentemet  [no]  &  de  plaifir,  que  les  feux  ne  leur 
caufoiet  de  douleurs  &  de  tourmes,  mais  ils  exaltent 
fur  tout  vn  nomme  lofeph  Onahar6,  quelques-vns  ont 
dit  qu'il  meritoit  la  palme  du  martyre,  car  en  effet, 
il  a  fouffert  pour  lefus-Chrift,  &  voicy  coment. 

Ce  leune  homme  depuis  quelque-temps,  ne  regar- 
doit  plus  les  Iroquois  que  comme  les  ennemys  de  la 
foy,  &  comme  les  deftrudleurs  de  la  Religion  Chre- 
ftienne,  il  ne  portoit  les  armes  contre  eux  qu'en  veuS 
de  conferuer  I'Eglife,  ou  il  auoit  pris  nailTance  en 
lefus-Chrift,  il  s'eftoit  refolu  de  fouffrir  &  de  mourir 
conftamment  pour  fa  querelle,  c'eft  pourquoy  fe 
voiant  pris  &  garotte,  il  luy  rendit  mille  loiianges,  le 
remercia  de  luy  auoir  donn6  la  foy  &  le  Baptefme, 
pria  tout  haut  en  face  de  tous  fes  ennemis,  donna 
courage  I.  fes  camarades,  les  exhortant  de  fouffrir  les 
tourmens,  qui  leurs  eftoient  prepares,  comme  des 
enfans  de  Dieu,  ^  qui  le  Ciel  efto.'t  ouuert.  Les 
Iroquois  luy  deffendet  de  prier  Dieu,  &  d'animer  fes 
gens.  II  les  regarde  d'vn  vifage  afTur6,  il  les  voit 
arm^s  de  fer,  de  feux,  de  flames,  de  coufteaux,  de 
haches  toutes  rouges,  il  fe  moque  d'eux  &  de  [in] 


3& 


1660J 


RELA  TION  OF  1649-30 


223 


death.  Such  was  the  reward  of  treachery.^  But 
let  us  ijcty  a  few  words  respecting  our  poor  Christians 
who  were  led  away  to  the  country  of  fire  and  flames. 
We  know  as  yet  but  little  of  the  matter ;  but  that 
little  is  very  remarkable. 

Two  Huron  captives,  escaped  from  the  hands  of 
the  Iroquois,  having  been  witnesses  of  the  horrible 
torments  which  they  made  these  poor  victims  suffer, 
have  filled  us  with  both  grief  and  joy.  They  tell  us 
that  these  good  Neophytes  chanted  the  praises  of 
God  in  the  midst  of  the  flames ;  that  it  seemed  as  if 
Heaven,  toward  which  they  cast  unceasingly  their 
eyes,  had  afforded  them  more  satisfaction  [no]  and 
delight  than  the  fire  had  caused  them  pain  and 
anguicu.  But  they  extol,  above  all,  one  named 
Joseph  Onahar6 ;  some  of  them  say  that  he  deserved 
the  martyr's  palm,  for  indeed  he  suffered  for  Jesus 
Christ ;  and  let  us  see  how. 

That  Young  man  had,  for  some  time  past,  looked 
upon  the  Iroquois  as  nothing  more  than  enemies  of 
the  faith  and  destroyers  of  the  Christian  Religion. 
He  carried  arms  against  them  with  the  object  only  of 
preserving  the  Church  in  which  he  had  been  born  in 
Jesus  Christ;  he  had  made  the  resolution  to  suffer 
and  die  with  constancy  for  his  cause.  For  this 
reason,  finding  himself  a  prisoner,  and  bound,  he 
rendered  Christ  a  thousand  praises ;  thanked  him  for 
having  bestowed  on  him  the  faith  and  Baptism; 
prayed  loudly,  in  the  face  of  all  his  enemies;  and 
imparted  courage  to  his  comrades,  exhorting  them 
to  suffer  the  torments  which  had  been  prepared  for 
them  as  children  of  God,  to  whom  Heaven  was  open. 
The  Iroquois  forbade  him  to  pray  to  God,  or  to 
encourage  his  people.     He  looked  upon  them  with 


224 


LES  RELATIONS  DES  jASUITES         [Vol.36 


f 


*\ 


:-  f. 


leurs  tourmetis,  il  continue  fa  priere,  ce  qui  iette  ces 
barbares  dans  vne  telle  rage  qu'ils  refolurent  de  le 
tourmenter  d'vne  £396  nouuelle,  s'il  ne  celloit  d'inuo- 
quer  fon  Dieu,  ils  le  martyriferent  trois  iours,  &  trois 
nuits  durant,  &  iamais  ne  purent  I'empefcher  de 
chanter  les  loiianges  de  fon  Seigneur,  &  de  fon 
maiftre :  ils  luy  difoient,  en  fe  moquant,  ce  que  les 
luifs  obiedtoient  au  Fils  de  Dieu,  demande  fecours  k 
celuy  que  tu  inuoque/  dis  luy  qu'il  te  vienne  d^li- 
urer:  mais  ce  leune  homme,  m^prifant  leur  fureur, 
remercioit  Dieu  de  la  grace  qu'il  luy  faifoit  d'endu- 
rer  comme  vn  Chreftien,  &  non  come  vn  fimple 
Sauuage.  Enfin  il  I'honora  iufques  au  dernier  fouf- 
pir,  &  ceux  qui  ont  affift6  a  ces  grades  fouffrances, 
difent  qu'ils  ne  f9auent  lequel  des  deux  a  paru  plus 
eflonnant  k  leurs  yeux,  ou  la  rage,  &  la  grandeur  des 
tourmens,  ou  la  conftance  &  la  generofit6  du  Patient. 
Comme  on  eftoit  fur  Timpreffion  de  ce  Chapitre,  on 
a  receu  vne  lettre,  apportde  par  le  dernier  vaifTeau 
venu  de  ces  contr^es,  qui  parle  en  ces  termes  k  vn 
Pere  qui  en  eft  retourn^  depuis  peu. 

Voicy  des  nouuelles  de  voftre  pauure  lofeph.  Vn 
leune  Huron  fon  grand  amy,  [112]  aiant  eft^  pris 
auec  luy,  &  receu  la  vie  des  Iroquois,  qui  luy  auoient 
donn6  toute  liberty  dans  leurs  Bourgades,  s'eft  fauud, 
&  nous  a  rapports  ce  qui  fuit.  N'eftant  point  fuf- 
pedl  aux  Iroquois  qui  m'auoiet  donn^  la  vie,  ie  trou- 
uay  moien  de  monter  fur  I'echaffaut,  ou  on  tourmentoit 
lofeph  Onahar6,  &  de  luy  parler  vn  peu  de  temps,  il 
me  dit  ces  paroles.  Si  iamais  mo  cher  amy  tu 
retourne  au  pais  des  Algoquins,  aflure  les  que  les 
Iroquois  auec  tous  leurs  tourmens,  n'ont  peu  m'ar- 
racher  la  priere  de  la  bouche,  ny  la  foy  de  mon  coeur; 


i 


1650] 


RELA  TION  OF  1649-^0 


226 


a  steadfast  countenance;  he  saw  them  armed  with 
iron,  fire,  flame,  knives,  and  red-hot  hatchets.  But 
he  laughed  at  them  and  [i  i  i]  their  tortures;  he  con- 
tinued in  prayer,  which  so  enraged  the  barbarians 
that  they  determined  to  torture  him  in  some  new 
way,  if  he  did  not  cease  to  invoke  his  God.  They 
put  him  to  martyrdom  for  three  days  and  three  nights, 
and  were  never  able  to  make  him  cease  from  singing 
the  praises  of  his  Lord  and  master.  They  uttered  to 
him,  in  mockery,  the  reproach  of  the  Jews  against 
the  Son  of  God :  ' '  Ask  help  from  him  whom  thou 
invokest;  tell  him  to  come  and  deliver  thee."  But 
this  Young  man,  despising  their  fury,  thanked  God 
for  the  grace  he  had  given  him  to  suffer  as  a  Chris- 
tian, and  not  as  a  common  Savage.  In  short,  he  paid 
him  honor  to  the  last  breath ;  and  those  who  looked 
on  at  these  great  sufferings,  said  that  they  did  not 
know  which  of  the  two  appeared  to  them  the  more 
astonishing, — the  violence  and  intensity  of  the  tor- 
ments, or  the  constancy  and  magnanimity  of  the 
Sufferer.  While  this  last  Chapter  was  on  the  press 
a  letter  was  brought,  by  the  latest  vessel  that  had 
come  from  those  countries,  to  a  Father  who  had 
lately  returned  thence,  couched  in  these  terms : 

"  Here  is  news  concerning  your  poor  Joseph.  A 
Young  Huron,  his  great  friend,  [112]  having  been 
made  a  prisoner  with  him, — but  whose  life  was 
spared  by  the  Iroquois,  who  had  given  him  full 
liberty  within  their  Villages, —  made  his  escape,  and 
reported  to  us  what  follows.  '  Unsuspected  by  the 
Iroquois,  who  had  granted  me  life,  I  found  means  to 
mount  the  scaffold  on  which  they  were  torturing 
Joseph  Onahar^,  and  talked  witL  him  a  little  while. 
He  said  these  words  to  me :  "  If  ever,  my  dear  friend. 


I 


I 


226 


LES  RELA  TIONS  DES  JASUITES         f  Vol..  35 


ti 


i 


f 


A 


\l    ' 


.  ! 


1     ' 


.u\ 


\    \ 


i 


Dis  leur  que  ie  fuis  mort  auec  plaifir  dans  Tefperance 
d'aller  bien  toft  au  Ciel.  En  effedt  adioutoit  ce  leune 
Huron,  il  ne  celTa  de  prier  &  de  loiier  Dieu  dans  fes 
tourmens  qui  dureret  trois  iours  entiers,  &  comme 
cette  grande  trouppe  de  Bourreaux  le  tourmentoient 
dauantage  pource  qu'il  prioit,  luy  au  lieu  d'arrefter 
fes  prieres  pour  arrefter  fes  tourmens,  les  redoubloit 
dauantage,  leuant  fouuent  les  yeux  vers  le  Ciel.  Ce 
fpec5tacle  me  comblant  de  douleur  &  me  tirant  les 
larmes  des  yeux.  II  me  demanda  ^v  i'eftois  mefcon- 
tent  de  fon  bon-heur;  ne  m'attendris  point  [113]  par 
tes  larmes,  me  difoit-il,  car  ie  t'affeure,  qu'encor  que 
ie  fouffre  beaucoup  en  mon  corps,  mon  ame  n'eft 
point  trifte,  ce  feroit  bien  pour  vn  neant  que  ie  m'at- 
trifterois,  puis  que  ie  fuis  fi  proche  de  la  maifon  de 
celuy  qui  a  tout  fait.  Voila,  dit  le  Pere,  dont  nous 
auons  receu  la  lettre,  ce  qu'on  nous  a  racont^  de 
nouueau  de  ce  ieune  homme  qui  vous  a  eft^  fi  cher. 

Sortant  de  Saint  lofeph  il  fit  de  foy-mefme,  &  fans 
qu'aucun  Tinftruifit,  vne  Confeffion  generale  depuis 
fon  Baptefme,  &  paffant  aux  Trois  riuieres  il  fe 
confefia  &  fe  communia  encor  auec  fes  camarades. 
Dieu  le  difpofoit  k  vne  fi  fainte  &  fi  glorieufe  mort. 

Ce  genereux  Athlete  eftoit  natif  d'vne  petit  nation 
Algonquine  afl^ez  peu  efloign^e  du  pays  des  Hurons. 
Ayant  ouy  parler  de  noftre  creance,  &  voyant  que 
fes  compatriotes  ne  la  gouttoient  pas ;  il  defcendit  aux 
Trois  riuieres,  &  de  1^  il  vint  iufques  h.  Saint  lofeph 
^  Sillery,  oil  ayant  veu  la  piet^  des  Chreftiens,  il  fut 
touche,  fe  fit  inftruire,  &  en  fuite  demanda  &  obtint 
le  Baptefme.  Nous  I'auions  tenu  vn  an  dans  noftre 
maifon,  &  comme  il  fe  faifoit  grand  il  choifit  vn  tres- 
bon  Chreftien  nomm6    [114]  Charles  KarisKatifitch 


35 


1660] 


RELA  TION  OF  1649-^0 


227 


thou  returnest  to  the  country  of  the  Algonquins, 
assure  them  that  the  Iroquois,  with  all  their  tortures, 
have  not  succeeded  in  stifling  the  prayer  on  my  lips, 
nor  the  faith  in  my  heart.  Tell  them  that  I  died 
gladly,  in  the  hope  of  going  very  soon  to  Heaven." 
Indeed,'  added  the  Young  Huron,  '  he  did  not  cease 
to  pray,  and  to  praise  God,  amid  tortures  that  lasted 
three  whole  days ;  and,  as  this  great  troop  of  Butchers 
tormented  him  the  more,  because  he  prayed,  he, 
instead  of  desisting  from  his  prayers,  redoubled 
them,  often  lifting  his  eyes  to  Heaven, —  the  spec- 
tacle filling  me  with  grief,  and  drawing  tears  from 
my  eyes.  He  asked  me  if  I  felt  sad  at  his  happiness. 
"  Do  not  unnerve  me  [113]  by  thy  tears,"  he  said  to 
me ;  ' '  for  I  assure  thee  that  although  I  suffer  much 
in  my  body,  my  soul  is  not  at  all  sad ;  it  would  cer- 
tainly be  for  a  mere  nothing  if  I  were  afflicted, —  I, 
who  am  so  near  the  bouse  of  him  who  made  all 
things."  '  See,"  says  ihe  Father  from  whom  we 
received  the  letter,  "  whtti;  has  been  recently  told  us 
concerning  that  young  man  who  was  so  dear  to  you." 

When  he  left  Saint  Jossph,  he  made  —  of  his  own 
accord,  and  without  any  o^ie  instructing  him  to  do 
so  —  a  general  Confession,  dating  from  the  time  of 
his  Baptism ;  and  going  on  to  Three  rivers,  he  again 
confessed  and  received  communion  with  his  com- 
rades. God  was  preparing  him  for  so  holy  and 
glorious  a  death. 

This  noble  Champion  was  a  native  of  a  petty  Al- 
gonquin nation,  not  far  distant  from  the  country  of 
the  Hurons.  Having  heard  of  our  belief,  and  seeing 
that  his  fellow-countrymen  had  no  relish  for  it,  he 
went  down  to  Three  rivers,  and  from  that  place  came 
as  far  as  the  mission  of  Saint  Joseph  at  Sillery, — 


s    f> 


«i 


It 


f 


it 


iij/ 


LES  RELATIONS  DES  JASUITES         [Vol.86 


pour  fon  Pere,  qui  le  receut  &  I'adopta  comme  fon 
fils,  &  le  maria  ^  vne  ieune  fille  Chreftienne ;  il  eftoit 
d'vn  naturel  prompt,  vif  &  hardy,  &  fi  la  Foy  n'eut 
efl6  fortement  enracin^e  dans  fon  ame,  il  y  a  long- 
temps  qu'il  auroit  quitt6  la  demeure  &  la  compagnie 
des  Chreftiens,  veu  mefmement  que  fes  parens  firent 
tous  leurs  efforts  pour  le  faire  retourner  en  fon  pays, 
iufques  k  luy  deleguer  vn  fien  coufin  que  noftre 
Neophite  m^prifa,  voyant  le  peu  d'amour  qu'il  auoit 
pour  la  Religion  Chreftienne. 

Vne  ann^e  deuant  fa  mort,  eflant  all6  en  guerre 
auec  vne  troupe  d'Algonquins  dot  le  chef  n'efloit  pas 
baptif^,  come  ils  approchoient  du  pays  de  leurs 
ennemis,  leur  Capitaine  voulut  confulter  le  Demon 
pour  fjauoir  de  luy  quelle  route  ils  prendroient,  afin 
de  faire  rencontre  k  leur  auantage:  Noftre  lofeph 
s'y  oppofa,  difant  que  la  Loy  de  lefus-Chrift  ne 
permettoit  aucune  communication  auec  les  manuals 
efprits;  mais  comme  il  n'eftoit  pas  le  plus  fort,  on 
drelTe  le  Tabernacle,  le  Sorcier,  ou  pluftoft  le  lon- 
gleur,  y  entre,  il  I'^branle,  &  le  fait  trembler  d'vne 
fa9on  eftrange,  il  fait  fes  inuocations,  en  forte  [115] 
que  le  Demon,  ou  pluftoft  le  charlatan  mefme  chan- 
geant  de  voix,  &  s'adreffant  au  Chreftien,  luy  dit 
d'vn  ton  plein  de  menaces:  D'oti  vient  que  tu  ne 
veux  pas  qu'on  me  confulte?  Tu  fais  du  hardy,  & 
tu  n'es  qu'vn  fuperbe.  Tout  le  monde  tremble  ^ 
cette  voix.  Le  Chreftien  repart  fans  s'eftonner:  Tu 
veux  jetter  la  peur  dedans  mon  ame,  ie  ne  crains  ny 
toy,  I./  tes  menaces,  ny  les  Iroquois;  ie  crains  & 
i'honore  celuy  qui  a  tout  fait,  c'eft  mon  Maiftre  &  le 
tien;  tu  n'as  de  pouuoir  qu'autant  qu'il  t'en  accorde. 
C'eft  moi,  dit  le  Demon,  qui  ay  tout  fait.     Tu  es  vn 


" — ▼! 


Vol.  35 

ne  fon 
I  efloit 
^  n'eut 
a  long- 
pagnie 
s  firent 
n  pays, 
noftre 
'il  auoit 

guerre 
\o\i  pas 
e   leurs 
Demon 
ent,  afin 
J  lofeph 
hrifl   ne 
mauiiais 
i  fort,  on 
I:  le  lon- 
er d'vne 
rte  [115] 
ne  chan- 
luy  dit 
le  tu  ne 
hardy,  & 
remble  k 
mer:  Tu 
rains  ny 
crains  & 
iftre  &  le 
accorde. 
Tu  es  vn 


1650] 


RELA  TION  OF  1649-50 


229^ 


where,  having  witnessed  the  piety  of  the  Christians, 
he  was  impressed,  placed  himself  under  instruction, 
and,  in  due  course,  solicited  and  obtained  Baptism. 
We  retained  him  for  a  year,  in  our  house ;  and  as  he 
was  reaching  manhood,  he  selected  a  very  good  Chris- 
tian, named  [114]  Charles  Kariskatisitch,  for  his 
Father,  who  received  and  adopted  him  as  his  son, 
and  married  him  to  a  young  Christian  girl.  He  was 
naturally  quick,  vivacious,  and  daring;  and,  if  the 
Faith  had  not  been  firmly  rooted  in  his  soul,  he 
would  long  ago  have  left  the  abode  and  companion- 
ship of  Christians, —  especially  since  his  relatives 
exerted  all  their  efforts  to  induce  him  to  return  to 
his  own  country,  even  to  sending  to  him,  as  ambas- 
sador, his  own  cousin,  whom  our  Neophyte  scorned 
when  he  saw  how  little  love  the  latter  felt  toward 
the  Christian  Religion. 

A  year  before  his  death, — having  gone  on  the 
war-path  with  a  band  of  Algonquins,  the  chief  of 
which  was  not  baptized, —  as  they  drew  near  to  the 
country  of  their  enemies,  their  Captain  wished  to 
consult  the  Demon,  to  ascertain  from  him  what  route 
they  should  take  in  order  to  meet  with  success  in 
their  venture.  Our  Joseph  opposed  this,  saying  that 
the  Law  of  Jesus  Christ  did  not  allow  of  any  com- 
munication with  wicked  spirits ;  but  as  he  was  not  the 
most  influential,  the  Tabernacle  was  erected ;  the  Sor- 
cerer—  or  rather,  the  Juggler  —  entered  it,  shook  it, 
and  made  it  tremble  after  a  strange  fashion.  His 
invocations  he  performed  in  such  a  manner,  [115] 
that  the  Demon, —  or  rather,  the  charlatan  himself, — 
changing  his  voice,  and  addressing  the  Christian, 
said  to  him  in  a  threatening  tone :  "Whence  comes 
it    that    thou    art    not    willing    that    I    should   be 


230 


LES  RELA  TIONS  DES  jASUITES        [Vol.  86 


I 
7         I 


i 


*  k 


i 


impofteur,  repliqiie  noflre  lofeph,  monltre  tes  forces, 
ie  te  deffie,  tu  voudrois  m'^branler,  mais  tu  n'y  per- 
dras  que  tes  peines.  Le  Demon  demeura  confus,  & 
noftre  Chreftien  ne  laiffa  pas  de  rellentir  comme  vn 
coup  qui  luy  fut  donnd  au  cofl6,  qui  Tempefcha  trois 
iours  durant  de  refpirer,  ne  fe  mouuant  qu'auec 
peine,  cela  le  furprit,  mais  ne  I'abattit  pas,  il  difoit 
en  fon  coeur;  II  n''  "^orte  quand  ie  deurois  mourir, 
ie  ne  cederay  iama  .a  Manit8.  Enfin  s'eflant  forte- 
met  recommand^  ^  Dieu,  le  mal  le  quitta  en  vn 
inftant  comme  il  I'auoit  pris  en  vn  moment. 

[ii6]  Quelqu'vn  de  fes  camarades  voyant  qu'il  ne 
plioit  point  nonobftat  fa  douleur,  luy  fit  ce  reproche; 
Ie  fuis  marry  d'auoir  entrepris  ce  voyage  auec  toy, 
ie  voudrois  que  nous  fufllons  encor  dans  les  cabanes 
d'ou  nous  fommes  partis,  ie  n'en  fortirois  iamais  en 
ta  compagnie,  puis  que  tu  ne  fais  pas  comme  les 
autres,  &  que  tu  n' obeys  point  h.  noflre  Capitaine. 
H^  quoy  done,  fit  noflre  Chreftien,  nous  fommes- 
nous  mis  en  camp-  e  pour  confulter  le  Demon?  nos 
parens  &  nos  alb"  dus  ont-ils  dit  k  noftre  depart ; 

AUez  drelTer  des  Tabernacles,  &  faites  reuiure  les 
anciennes  fuperftitions  que  nous  auons  quitt6es?  ne 
nous  ont-ils  pas  recommand^  de  couper  lej-  bras  &  les 
jambes  k  nos  ennemis,  afin  que  nous  puiffions  prier 
Dieu,  &  que  nous  puiffions  eftre  inflruits  en  repos? 
Nous  cherchons  des  hommes,  &  non  des  Demons, 
c'eft  en  ce  point  que  j'obeiray,  &  non  pas  en  vos 
jongleries. 

Comme  ils  eftoient  dans  cette  contrafte,  lis  apper- 
ceurent  deux  Iroquois,  ils  quittent  le  combat  de  la 
langue,  ils  partent  comme  des  levriers  d'attache; 
noflre   lofeph   61eue   fon   cceur  a  Dieu,   &   courant 


/oL.  85 

orces, 
y  per- 
fus,  & 
me  vn 
a  trois 
u'auec 
[  difoit 
lourir, 
:  forte- 
en  vn 

u'il  ne 
Droche ; 
.ec  toy, 
:abanes 
Tiais  en 
me  les 
pitaine. 
ommes- 
3n?  nos 
depart ; 
.ure  les 
6es?  ne 
as  &  les 
US  prier 

repos? 
)emons, 

en  vos 

apper- 
at  de  la 
ittache ; 
courant 


I860] 


RELA TION  OF  1649-50 


28f 


consulted?  Thou  actest  the  part  of  the  bold,  and 
thou  art  but  an  arrogant  man."  All  trembled  at  that 
voice.  The  Christian,  quite  undismayed,  replied: 
' '  Thou  wishest  to  put  fear  into  my  soul ;  I  fear 
neither  thee,  nor  thy  threats,  nor  the  Iroquois;  I 
fear  and  honor  him  who  made  all  things.  He  is  my 
Master,  and  thine ;  thou  hast  only  as  much  power  as 
he  grants  thee."  "It  is  I,"  said  the  Demon,  "  who 
created  all  things."  "  Thou  art  an  impostor," 
replied  our  Joseph;  "  vshow  me  thy  power;  I  defy 
thee.  Thou  wouldst  unsettle  me ;  but  thou  wilt  only 
waste  thy  trouble."  The  Demon,  abashed,  remained 
silent;  our  Christian,  however,  received  what  seemed 
like  a  blow  upon  his  side,  which  for  three  days  im- 
peded his  breathing,  every  movement  causing  suffer- 
ing. This  surprised,  but  did  not  deject  him;  for  he 
said  in  his  heart,  ' '  It  matters  not ;  though  I  were  to 
die,  I  will  never  yield  to  the  Manitou."  At  length, 
being  earnestly  commended  to  God,  the  trouble  left 
him,  as  it  had  seized  him,  in  an  instant. 

[116]  One  of  his  comrades  —  perceiving  that  he 
did  not  give  way,  in  spite  of  his  sufferings  —  re- 
proached him  after  this  manner:  "  I  repent  of  having 
und  rtaken  this  journey  with  thee ;  I  would  we  were 
again  in  the  cabins  whence  we  came ;  I  would  never 
have  left  them  in  thy  company,  since  thou  actest  not 
as  others,  and  obeyest  not  our  Captain."  "  Ha! 
what  then  ? ' '  asked  our  Christian ;  * '  have  we  taken 
the  field  in  order  to  consult  the  Demon?  Did  our 
relatives  and  allies  tell  us  at  our  departure,  '  Go,  and 
set  up  the  Tabernacles,  and  revive  the  old  supersti- 
tions that  we  have  abandoned  ? '  Did  they  not 
charge  us  to  cut  off  the  arms  aud  legs  of  our  enemies, 
that  we  may  be  able  to  pray  to  God  and  be  instructed 


% 


232 


LES  RELA  TIONS  DES  /^.SUITES         [Vol.  35 


f 


comnie  la  foudre,  paffa  bien-toft  fes  camarades:  [117] 
ler  Iroquois  fe  fentans  pourfuiuis  jettet  lenrs  robes 
par  terre,  &  fuiet  la  mort  plus  vifle  que  la  tempefte; 
mais  noftre  foldat  Chreftien  attrappe  bien-toft  celuy 
des  deux  qui  auoit  moins  d'haleine,  il  luy  donna  vn 
grand  coup  d'efp^e  dans  le  flanc,  &  fans  s'arrefter 
pourfuiuit  fon  compagnon :  mais  comme  il  auoit  trop 
dauantage,  il  ne  le  plit  attrapper;  Retournans  fu-  fes 
pas,  il  rencontre  le  forcier,  &  luy  dit,  h6  bien  ton 
demon  t'auoit-il  dit  que  tu  te  trouuerois  des  derniers 
k  la  courfe?  fi  j'euffe  eft6  femme,  il  m'auroit  fait 
peur,  mais  ie  ne  cralns  ny  toy  ny  luy,  ny  tous  vos 
fortileges.     Paffons  outre. 

Le  mal-heur  arriu6  par  la  trahifon  dont  nous 
venons  de  parler,  ne  fut  pas  feul,  Charles  Kariskati- 
fitch,  qui  auoit  adopts  pour  fils  noftre  lofeph,  retour- 
nant  de  Tadoufiac  h  Kebec  dans  vne  chalouppe 
charg^e  de  Chreftiens,  fut  accueilly  d'vne  fi  grande 
tempefte,  qu'il  fit  naufrage  dans  le  grand  fleuue,  & 
pas  vn  n'en  r^chappa,  ces  deux  coups  de  foudres 
la"cez  fur  la  pauure  Eglife  de  S.  lofeph  ont  cauf^ 
vne  grandifllme  defolation.  II  faut  conteiler  que  la 
Foy  eft  vn  grand  appuy,  fi  elle  n'euft  regn^  dans  les 
[118]  coeurs  des  femmes  veufues,  &  des  filles  orphe- 
lines,  &  des  enfans  abandonnez,  on  n'auroit  entendu 
que  des  cris,  &  des  hurlemens  de  barbares,  &  des 
lamentations  de  gens  defefperez,  &  on  ne  vit  que  des 
benedic5tions,  &  des  loiianges;  ces  pauures  creatures 
^  la  verity  bien  abattues,  mais  remplies  d'vne  fainte 
refignation  aux  volontez  de  Dieu,  fe  vindrent  ietter 
aux  pieds  de  nos  Autels,  les  meres  prians  pour  leurs 
enfans,  les  femmes  pour  leurs  maris,  &  les  enfans 
pour    leurs    peres.      Toutes    fe    confefferent   &   fe 


'li 


1650] 


/?ELA  TION  OF  1649-30 


288 


in  peace?  We  are  seeking  men,  and  not  Demons; 
in  this  I  shall  be  obedient,  and  not  in  your  jug- 
gleries. ' ' 

While  thus  contesting,  they  perceived  two  Iro- 
quois; the  battle  of  tongues  was  abandoned,  and 
they  started  out  like  greyhounds  from  the  leash. 
Our  Joseph  lifted  his  heart  to  God ;  and  running, 
fast  as  lightning,  soon  outstripped  his  comrades. 
[117]  The  Iroquois,  seeing  that  they  were  pursued, 
threw  their  clothing  on  the  ground,  and  fled  from 
death  more  quickly  than  from  .he  storm.  But  our 
Christian  soldier,  soon  outrunning  that  one  of  the  two 
who  had  the  least  breath,  struck  him  sharply  in  the 
side  with  a  javelin,  and  without  stopping,  continued 
to  pursue  this  man's  companion;  but,  as  the  latter 
had  too  great  a  start,  he  failed  to  take  him.  Retrac- 
ing nis  steps,  he  met  the  sorcerer,  and  said  to  him : 
"  Well,  did  thy  demon  tell  thee  that  thou  wouldst  be 
found  among  the  last  in  the  race?  Had  I  been  a 
woman,  I  might  have  been  afraid  of  him ;  but  I  fear 
neither  thee,  nor  him,  nor  all  thy  spells."  Let  us 
proceed. 

The  unfortunate  event  brought  about  by  the  trea- 
son of  which  we  have  just  spoken  did  not  stand 
alone.  Charles  Kariskatisitch,  who  had  adopted  our 
Joseph  as  a  son,  while  returning  from  Tadoussac  to 
Kebec  in  a  shallop  laden  with  Christians,  was  met 
by  so  heavy  a  storm  as  to  be  wrecked  in  the  great 
river,  not  one  escaping."  These  two  bolts,  striking 
the  poor  Church  of  St.  Joseph,  threw  us  into  the  deep- 
est affliction.  It  must  be  admitted  that  the  Faith  is 
a  great  support.  Had  it  not  reigned  in  the  [118] 
hearts  of  widowed  women  and  orphaned  girls,  naught 
would  have  been  heard  but  cries,  howls  of  barba- 


t-Mp' 


234 


LES  RELA  TIONS  DES  j£SUITES         [Vol.  35 


communierent  pour  le  foulagement  de  leurs  ames. 
Ckm  occideret  eos  qucerebant  eum.  Plus  Dieu  les  afflige, 
&  plus  ils  le  cherchent,  qu'il  foit  beny  k  iamais  dans 
les  temps  &  dans  l'eternit6. 

Nous  pourrios  rapportcr  quantity  de  bos  fentimes 
&  de  bones  adtions  des  enfans  de  ces  nouuelles 
Eglifes,  mais  le  peu  que  nous  auons  dit,  fuffira  pour 
exciter  ceux  qui  entendront  parler  de  noflre  defola- 
tion,  de  nous  fecourir  au  Ciel  &  en  la  terre.  Cos 
Eglifes  font  n6es  dedans  les  Croix,  elles  ont  engendr^ 
leurs  enfans  dans  les  fouffrances,  dans  les  perfecu- 
tions,  dans  les  epidimies,  dans  les  famines ;  dedans  les 
guerres,  elles  ne  fe  nourrilTent  que  de  larmes  [119] 
&  que  d'angoiffes,  elles  ne  font  quafi  plus  compof^es 
que  de  veufues,  &  que  d'orphelins,  &  fi  ie  parlois  en 
Sauuage,  ie  dirois  qu'il  ne  relle  plus  que  des  ombres, 
que  les  viuans  font  allez  au  Ciel.  Ie  ne  puis  aprcs 
tout  defefperer,  la  primitiue  Eglife  eftoit  remplie  de 
bannis,  de  gens  faits  efclaues,  de  condamnez  aux 
feux,  aux  roues,  aux  mines,  aux  efcuries  publiques, 
&  Dieu  a  tire  de  ces  baffeffes  les  Tiares  &  les  Mitres, 
les  Sceptres  &  les  Couronnes,  qui  ne  trouueront  leur 
affermiffement  folide  que  dans  reftabliffement  du 
Royaume  de  Iesvs-Christ,  Dieu  vueille  donner 
la  penf^e  &  le  zele  aux  Princes  Clirelliens  de 
I'eflablir  en  ce  nouueau  monde. 


in 


Vol.  36 

ames. 
afflige, 
is  dans 

ntimes 
uuelles 
ra  pour 
defola- 
e.     Cos 
Lgendr6 
)erfecu- 
ians  les 
es  [119] 
npof^es 
.rlois  en 
ombres, 
is  apres 
nplie  de 
nez  aux 
bliqnes, 
i  Mitres, 
•ont  leur 
nent  du 
donner 
lens    de 


1650] 


RELA  TION  OF  164^-30 


235 


rians,  and  lamentations  of  a  despairing  people ;  but 
we  witnessed  nothing  but  thanksgivings  and  praises. 
These  poor  creatures  —  of  a  truth,  laid  low  indeed, 
but  filled  with  holy  resignation  to  the  will  of  God  — 
came  to  throw  themselves  at  the  foot  of  our  Altars, 
mothers  praying  for  their  children,  wives  for  their 
husbands,  and  children  for  their  fathers.  All 
confessed  and  received  communion,  for  the  comfort 
of  their  souls.  Ciini  occidcret  cos,  qucerebant  etini.  The 
more  God  afflicted  them,  the  more  they  clung  to 
him.  May  he  be  blessed  forever,  through  time  and 
eternity. 

We  could  recount  a  multitude  of  holy  sentiments 
and  good  actions  of  the  children  of  these  new 
Churches;  but  the  little  we  have  said  will  suffice  to 
arouse  those  who  shall  hear  the  story  of  our  affliction 
to  assist  us  in  Heaven  and  on  earth.  These  Churches 
were  born  amid  Crosses:  they  have  begotten  their 
children  amid  sufferings,  persecutions,  epidemics, 
famines,  and  wars;  they  have  fed  on  tears  [119]  and 
anguish.  They  have  almost  no  other  members  than 
widows  and  orphans;  and,  if  I  were  to  speak  as  a 
Savage,  I  would  say  that  there  remains  naught  else 
than  phantoms,  the  living  having  gone  to  Heaven.  I 
cannot,  after  all,  despair.  The  primitive  Church 
was  filled  with  exiles,  and  with  people  reduced  to 
slavery,  or  condemned  to  the  flames,  to  the  wheel,  to 
the  mines,  to  the  public  stables;  and  God  has  drawn 
from  such  abasement  Tiaras  and  Miters,  Scepters  and 
Crowns,  which  will  only  find  their  lasting  solidity  in 
the  establishment  of  the  Kingdom  of  Jesus 
Christ.  May  God  be  pleased  to  give  to  Christian 
Princes  the  purpose  and  the  zeal  to  establish  it  in 
this  new  world. 


V 


^\ 


\  ! 


236 


LES  RELA  TIONS  DES  /^SUITES        [Vol.  35 


\ 


^'H 


f 


[I20]  CHAPITRE  XI. 

DES     SAUUAGES    DES     TROIS    RIUIERES    &    DES    ATTI- 

CAMEGUES. 

APRES   le   depart   des  vailleaux   fur  la    fin   de 
Tann^e  1648.  plufieurs  Sauuages  de  diuerfes 
nations  s'eftans  raffembl^s  aux  Trois  riuieres, 
tindrent  vn  confeil  entr'eux,  dans  lequel  ils  conclu- 
rent  que  les  articles  fuiuans  feroient  foigneufement 
obferuez. 

1.  Qu'on  choifiroit  I'vn  des  plus  feruens  Chre- 
fliens  de  cette  nouuelle  Eglife,  pour  fonder  les 
volontez  de  tous  les  Sauuages  qui  fe  voudroient  habi- 
tuer  en  c6t  endroit,  touchant  leur  bonne  ou  mauuaife 
inclination  pour  la  Foy  &  pour  la  Priere  comme  ils 
parlant. 

2.  Que  tous  ceux  qui  voudroient  faire  profeffion 
du  Chriflianifme  fe  foiimettroient  aux  peines  qui 
leurs  feroient  impof^es  s'ils  contreuenoient  aux  Loix 
de  lefus-Chrifl  &  de  fon  Eglife. 

3.  Que  I'yurognerie  feroit  bannie  &  [121]  exil^e 
de  leurs  cabanes,  &  que  fi  quelqu'vn  tomboit  dans 
ce  crime  on  le  mettroit  en  prifon  pour  le  faire  jeuner 
quelques  jours,  non  pas  au  pain  &  k  I'eau,  mais  k 
I'eau  toute  pure,  fans  autre  aliment. 

4.  Que  les  Apoftpts,  s'il  s'en  trouuoit  aux  trois 
riuieres,  ou  les  infidelles  endurcis,  &  rebelles  k  la 
Foy  ne  feroient  point  protegez  dans  le  fort  des 
Frangois. 


./ 


i  ill 


•MMM 


^OL.  86 


1650] 


RELA  TION  OF  1649-50 


237 


:;V 


V, 


ATTI- 

fin  de 
iuerfes 
Luieres, 
conclu- 
Lfement 

s  Chre- 
der  les 
nt  habi- 
lauuaife 
mme  ils 

rofeffion 
nes  qui 
ux  Loix 

:]  exil6e 
•it  dans 
|e  jeuner 
mais  k 

^ux  trois 
lies  k  la 
Eort   des 


[120]  CHAPTER  XL 

OF   THE   SAVAGES   AT   THREE    RIVERS,    AND   THE   ATTI- 

CAMEGUES. 

AFTER  the  departure  of  the  ships,  toward  the 
end  of  the  year   1648,  many  Savages  of  differ- 
ent nations,  being  assembled  at  Three  rivers, 
held  a  council  among  themselves,  at  which  it  was 
resolved  that  the  following  articles  should  be  care- 
fully observed. 

1 .  There  shall  be  selected  from  this  new  Church 
one  of  the  most  fervent  Christians,  for  the  purpose 
of  sounding  the  wills  of  all  Savages  who  might  desire 
to  settle  in  this  place,  to  ascertain  whether  or  not 
they  are  favorably  inclined  toward  the  Faith,  and, 
as  they  say,  * '  toward  the  Prayer. ' ' 

2.  That  all  those  who  wish  to  make  profession  of 
Christianity,  shall  submit  themselves  to  the  penalties 
which  would  be  imposed  should  they  transgress  the 
Laws  of  Jesus  Christ  and  of  his  Church. 

3.  That  drunkenness  shall  be  banished,  and  [121] 
driven  out  of  their  cabins ;  and  that,  should  any  one 
fall  into  this  crime,  he  shall  be  placed  in  prison,  and 
made  to  fast  for  several  days, — not  on  bread  and 
water,  but  on  water  only,  without  other  nourishment. 

4.  That  Apostates,  should  there  be  any  in  three 
rivers,  or  hardenerl  infidels,  and  rebels  against  the 
Faith,  shall  not  find  shelter  within  the  French  fort. 

As  a  consequence  of  these  conclusions,  all  the  infi- 
del Savages  were  sounded.     They  replied  that  they 


i 


^ 


I 


238 


LES  RELA  TIO  /VS  D  ES  JllS  UI'j  ES        [Vol.  36 


I 


f 


' 


) 


En  fuitte  de  ces  conclufions  on  fonda  tons  les  Sau- 
"uages  infideles.  lis  r^pondirent  qu'ils  honnoroient 
la  priere,  &  qu'ils  vouloient  prefler  I'oreille  k  la 
dodtrine  de  lefus-Chrifl ;  il  n'y  en  eut  qu'vn  feul  qui 
rebutafl  la  propofition  qu'on  luy  fit  de  fe  conuertir:  il 
y  auoit  long-temps  qu'il  frequentoit  les  Chreftiens, 
mais  le  demon  luy  auoit  mis  fi  auant  dans  la  tefte  qu'il 
mouroit  bien-toft  s'il  fe  faifoit  baptifer,  que  la  crainte 
d'vne  mort  temporelle  I'a-jett^  dans  vn  mal-heur 
eternel;  car  en  fuyant  les  Hiroquois  il  eft  tomb6 
entre  leurs  mains,  &  fi  Dieu  ne  luy  a  fait  vne  grace 
miraculeufe  il  a  pall^  d'vn  feu  elementaire  dans  le 
feu  des  enfers :  on  remarqua  auec  eilonnement  que 
tous  ceux  qui  I'accompagnoient  fe  fauuerent,  &  que 
luy  feul  &  fa  famille  furent  la  proye  [122]  de  ces 
Anthropophages. 

Pour  les  Chreftiens,  leur  ferueur  fut  fi  grande,  que 
fi  quelqu'vn  auoit  contreuenu  aux  ordres  fufdits,  il 
fe  venoit  prefenter  luy-mefme  pour  eftre  emprifonn^ 
ou  pour  receuoir  en  public  la  corredtion  ou  le  chafti- 
ment  de  fa  f aute ;  Dieu  veiiille  que  cette  ardeur  dure 
long-temps. 

Le  courage  &  la  force  d'vn  Chreftien  en  la  Foy, 
nous  donnera  fujet  de  parler  de  la  fin  afCez  mal- 
heureufe  de  deux  fauuages:  vne  efcoiiade  de  25.  ou 
30.  hommes  eftoient  allez  en  marchandifes  vers  la 
nation  des  8ta8kotb'emii^ek,  ce  font  peuples  qui  ne 
defcendent  quafi  jamais  vers  les  Fran9ois,  leur  langue 
eft  mefl^e  de  I'Algonquine  &  de  la  Montagnefe,  ces 
marchans  eftans  munis  d'armes,  partie  pour  fe 
deffendre,  partie  pour  en  vendre  k  ces  peuples,  I'vn 
d'eux  voyant  que  fa  poudre  eftoit  humide,  I'expofe 
aux  rayons  du  Soleil  pour  la  faire  fecher,   1' autre 


•w 


I 


1650J 


HELA  TION  OF  1649  so 


239 


honored  the  prayer,  and  that  they  would  lend  ear  to 
the  doctrine  of  Jesus  Christ.  There  was  only  one 
who  refused  the  proposal  that  he  should  become 
converted.  He  had,  for  a  long  time  past,  associated 
with  the  Christians  there,  but  the  demon  had  so 
deeply  planted  in  his  mind  the  idea  that  he  would 
die  soon  if  he  were  baptized,  that  the  fear  of  a  tem- 
poral death  entailed  an  eternal  misfortune;  for,  in 
fleeing  from  the  Hiroquois,  he  fell  into  their  hands, 
and,  unless  God  worked  on  him  a  miracle  of  grace, 
he  passed  from  an  earthly  fire  into  the  fire  of  hell. 
It  was  observed  with  awe  that  all  who  accompanied 
him  were  saved,  and  that  he  alone,  and  his  family 
were  the  prey  [122]  of  those  Anthropophagi. 

In  regard  to  the  Christians,  their  fervor  was  so 
great,  that,  if  any  one  transgressed  the  above-men- 
tioned orders,  he  would  come,  and  deliver  himself 
up  to  be  imprisoned,  or  to  receive  in  public  the  repri- 
mand or  chastisement  of  his  fault.  God  grant  that 
this  fervor  be  lasting. 

The  courage  and  strength  of  a  Christian  in  the 
Faith  will  afford  us  reason  to  speak  of  the  very 
sad  end  of  two  savages.  A  squad  of  25  or  30  men 
had  gone,  for  trade,  to  the  people  of  the  Outaouko- 
twemiwek;  these  are  tribes  who  scarcely  ever  go 
down  to  the  French  settlements;  their  language  is 
a  mixture  of  Algonquin  and  Montagnais.  These 
traders  being  provided  with  arms, — partly  for  self- 
defense,  partly  for  sale  to  this  people, —  one  of  them, 
observing  that  his  powder  was  damp,  exposed  it  to  the 
rays  of  the  Sun  in  order  to  dry  it.  Another,  wish- 
ing to  apprise  the  Savages  of  the  country  of  their 
arrival,  fired  a  shot  from  an  arquebus,  at  a  few  steps 
from  the  barrel  containing  the  powder ;  this  caught 


i   I 


I  I 


240 


LES  RELA  TIONS  DES  /^SUITES         [Vol.  85 


it 


I- 


f 


voulant  donner  aduis  de  leur  venug  aux  Sauuages  du 
pays,  tira  vn  coup  d'arquebufe  k  quelques  pas  du 
baril  oh.  eftoit  cette  poudre,  qui  prit  feu  en  vn  mo- 
ment, &  brufla  trois  Sauuages  en  forte  qu'on  eut  dit 
qu'ils  auoient  paff^  au  trauers  d  vn  grand  [123]  incen- 
die,  tant  ils  eftoient  noirs  &  ddfigurez.  On  les  porte 
auffi-toft  dans  les  cabanes  des  mfidelles,  les  charlatans 
ou  les  jongleurs,  comrae  les  plus  experts  medecins 
du  pays,  fe  prefentent  pcur  conjurer  leur  mal,  par 
des  cris,  &  par  des  chanfons  &  par  des  tambours  plus 
capables  de  tuer  vn  malade  que  de  le  guerir :  deux 
condefcendirent  k  leur  fuperftition,  mais  le  troifi6me, 
nomm6  Barthelemy  Chig8nabiK,  ne  voulut  jamais 
qu'on  le  foufflaft,  ny  qu'on  remplit  fes  oreilles  de 
leurs  hurlemens.  On  luy  dit  que  c'efl  fait  de  fa  vie, 
fi  ces  medecins  ne  le  penfent  k  leur  mode:  II  n'im- 
porte,  r^pond-il,  la  vie  de  I'ame  eft  preferable  k  la 
vie  du  corps;  les  infideles  le  prient  d'auoir  compalfion 
de  foy-mefme,  ils  font  approcher  les  longleurs:  il  les 
rebute,  proteflant  qn'il  n'aura  jamais  recours  au 
demon.  Ceux  qui  faifoient  profeffion  de  1' aimer  le 
conjurent  de  vouloir  6prouuer  leurs  anciens  remedes, 
pour  Suiter  la  mort.  le  mourray  fans  peine,  repart- 
il,  &  ie  ne  puis  fans  pech6  obeyr  k  vos  longleurs,  ne 
m'en  parlez  plus,  ie  fuis  Chreftien;  j'ay  toutes  ces 
fuperftitions  en  horreur.  En  fin  ce  bon  Neophyte 
eft  rechap^  auec  la  joye  &  le  contentement  [124]  des 
Chreftiens,  &  les  deux  autres  moururent  incontinent 
apres  le  tintamarre  des  tambours  &  des  hurlemens  de 
ces  jongleurs,  ce  qui  donna  bien  de  I'eftonnement, 
&  de  la  confufion  aux  infideles. 

Si-toft  que  ce  braue  Neophyte  fut  de  retour  aux 
Trois  riuieres,  il  fe  tranfporta  k  la  chappelle  pour 


jes  du 
•as  du 
n  mo- 
mt  dit 
incen- 
',  porte 
rlatans 
decins 
al,  par 
rs  plus 
:  deux 
ifi6ine, 
jamais 
lies  de 
fa  vie, 
:i  n'im- 
jle  h  la 
ipaffion 
3:  illes 
purs   au 
limer  le 
medes, 
repart- 
urs,  ne^ 
utes  ces 
sophyte 
24]  des 
)ntinent 
nans  de 
lement, 

our  aux 
le  pour 


1660] 


JtELA  TION  OF  1649-50 


241 


fire  in  an  instant,  and  burned  three  Savages  so 
severely  that  you  would  have  thought  they  had  passed 
through  a  great  [123]  fire,  so  blackened  and  dis- 
figured were  they.  They  were  taken  at  once  into 
the  cabins  of  the  infidels.  The  charlatans  or  jug- 
glers, as  being  the  most  expert  physicians  of  the 
country,  offered  to  charm  away  their  hurts  by  cries, 
songs,  and  drums,  more  suited  to  kill  than  to  cure  a 
sick  man.  Two  submitted  to  their  superstitions. 
The  third,  named  Barthelemy  Chigounabik,  would 
never  consent  to  be  blown  upon,  or  that  he  should 
be  deafened  with  their  howls.  They  said  that  it  was 
all  over  with  him  if  these  medicine-men  did  not  treat 
him  after  their  fashion.  "  It  matters  not,"  he 
replied;  "the  life  of  the  soul  is  to  be  preferred 
to  that  of  the  body."  The  infidels  besought  him 
to  have  compassion  on  himself.  They  called  the 
Jugglers;  he  repelled  them,  protesting  that  he  would 
never  have  recourse  to  the  demon.  Those  who  pro- 
fessed to  love  him  conjured  him  to  consent  to  a  trial 
of  their  old-time  remedies,  in  order  to  escape  death. 
"  I  shall  die  willingly,"  he  replied;  "  and  I  cannot, 
without  sin,  obey  your  Jugglers.  Speak  to  me  no 
more  of  it.  I  am  a  Christian  ;  I  hold  all  these  super- 
stitions in  abhorrence."  In  the  end,  this  good  Neo- 
phyte recovered,  to  the  joy  and  gratification  [124]  of 
the  Christians,  while  the  other  two  died  immediately 
after  all  the  din  of  the  drums,  and  the  howls  of  the 
jugglers,  which  caused  much  astonishment  and 
discomfiture  among  the  infidels. 

As  soon  as  this  brave  Neophyte  returned  to  Three 
rivers,  he  repaired  to  the  chapel  to  thank  God  for 
having  preserved  him  in  so  great  a  danger.  His 
fervency  in  upholding  the  Faith  made  him  respected ; 


\ 


ii 


% 


^T' 


\ 


'-•m 


f 


It     ' 


242 


LES  RELA  TIONS  DES  J&SUITES        [Vol.  85 


remercier  Dieu  de  I'auoir  conferu6  dans  vn  fi  grand 
danger,  fa  ferueur  "k  maintenir  la  Foy  le  rend  recom- 
mandable,  &  noflre  Seigneur  prend  plaifir  de  le 
confoler  dans  les  troubles  de  cette  miferable  vie. 

Vn  Sauuage  difant  vn  iour  en  la  prefence  de  quel- 
que  Pere  de  noftre  Compagnie,  qu'il  fentoit  depuis 
quelque  temps  le  poids  d'vne  triftelTe  qui  luy  efloit 
onereufe:  il  faut,  dit  Barthelemy,  que  tu  ne  croye 
pas  fi  fortement  en  Dieu,  que  doit  croire  vn  homme 
qui  eft  baptifd ;  car  fi  ta  Foy  eftoit  vine,  rien  ne  te 
pourroit  attrifter:  jamais  ie  n'eflois  content,  deuant 
que  ie  fufl^e  Chreftien,  j'auois  toufiours quelque  ennuy 
ou  quelque  tritlelTe,  mais  maintenant  que  ie  puis 
aller  au  Ciel,  &  que  les  peines  de  cette  vie  nous  font 
profitables,  rien  ne  m'attrifte,  [125]  vne  feule  chofe 
me  donne  du  m^contentement,  c'eft  de  voir  quel- 
ques-vns  de  mes  compatriotes  peu  affecitionnez  k  la 
Foy  &  k  la  Priere. 

Voicy  vn  raifonnement  de  Sauuage  que  ie  pourrois 
appeller  Theologique,  pource  qu'il  elt  fond6  fur  les 
principes  de  la  Foy.  Ce  braue  Neophyte  ayant 
appris  les  fouffrances  &  la  mort  du  Pere  lean  de  Bre- 
beuf  &  de  nos  autres  Peres  malTacrez  par  les  Hiro- 
quois,  en  tiroit  ces  belles  conclufions,  il  me  femble 
qu'il  ne  faut  point  s'attrifter  de  la  mort  de  ces  bons 
Peres,  leurs  tourmens  font  paflez,  &  leur  joye  ne 
finira  jamais,  s'ils  nous  aymoient  en  tex're  ils  nous 
ayment  encore  au  Ciel ;  car  la  bont6  ne  fe  perd  pas 
en  ce  pays-Ik;  s'ils  procuroient  le  falut  des  Sauuages 
en  ce  monde,  ils  ne  font  pas  pour  le  negliger  en  I'au- 
tre,  ou  la  charity  ne  diminue  jamais:  fi  plus  on  efl 
grand  &  plus  on  fait  de  bien  nous  n'auons  rien  perdu 
par  leur  abfence.      Pour  moy   ie  les   veux   imiter, 


Vol..  35 

grand 
recom- 
de   le 
le. 

s  quel- 
depuis 
J  eftoit 
:  croye 
lomme 
L  ne  te 
deuant 
;  ennuy 
ie   puis 
»us  font 
e  chofe 
.r  quel- 
nez  k  la 

jourrois 
I  fur  les 
ayant 
de  Bre- 
s  Hiro- 
femble 
es  bons 
oye   ne 
ils  nous 
erd  pas 
auuages 
en  I'au- 
is  on  eft 
n  perdu 
imiter, 


1660] 


RELA  TION  OF  1649-30 


243 


and  our  Lord  was  pleased  to  comfort  him  in  the 
troubles  of  this  miserable  life. 

A  Savage  saying,  one  day,  in  the  presence  of  a 
Father  of  our  Society,  that  he  had  felt,  for  some  time 
past,  the  pressure  of  a  sorrow,  which  was  burden- 
some, Barthelemy  said:  "  It  must  be  that  thou 
believest  not  so  firmly  in  God  as  a  man  ought  who  is 
baptized;  for  if  thy  Faith  be  living,  nothing  can 
cause  thee  sadness.  I  was  never  happy  before  I 
became  a  Christian, —  I  had  always  some  burden  or 
some  sorrow;  but  now  that  I  can  go  to  Heaven,  and 
that  the  troubles  of  this  life  are  profitable  to  us,  noth- 
ing saddens  me.  [125]  One  thing  only  causes  me 
displeasure, —  it  is  to  see  any  of  my  fellow-country- 
men caring  little  for  the  Faith  and  the  Prayer. ' ' 

Here  is  a  course  of  reasoning  from  a  Savage,  which 
I  could  call  Theological,  for  it  is  founded  on  the  prin- 
ciples of  the  Faith.  This  brave  Neophyte,  having 
been  informed  of  the  sufferings  and  death  of  Father 
Jean  de  Brebeuf,  and  of  our  other  Fathers,  murdered 
by  the  Hiroquois,  drew  from  them  these  admirable 
conclusions :  "It  seems  to  me  that  we  should  not 
mourn  over  the  death  of  these  good  Fathers ;  their 
torments  are  over,  and  their  joy  will  never  end.  If 
they  loved  us  on  earth,  they  will  still  love  us  in 
Heaven,  for  goodness  does  not  go  to  ruin  in  that 
country.  If  in  this  world  they  labored  for  the  salva- 
tion of  the  Savages,  they  are  not  going  to  slight 
them  in  that  other,  where  charity  never  grows  less. 
If  one  is  the  greater,  the  more  good  he  does,  we 
have  lost  nothing  by  their  absence.  For  myself,  I 
desire  to  imitate  them.  I  find  myself  in  danger  from 
our  enemies,  like  them.  They  could  have  escaped, 
and  I  can  do  so,  by  shunning  the  paths  along  which 


(It 


I'' 


) 


i 


■i « 


I  I, 


If  f  H 

.r 


244 


/.if^  RELATIONS  DES  J  ^SUITES        [Vol.  86 


ie  me  trouue  dans  le  danger  de  nos  ennemis  aufli 
bien  qu'eux,  ils  fe  pouuoient  fauuer,  ie  le  pourrois 
faire  en  m'^cartant  des  endroits  oil  les  ennemis  font 
leur  courfes,  ils  font  demeurez  dans  le  [126]  peril 
pour  ayder  ceux  qui  ne  pouuoient  pas  fuyr,  ils  ont 
mieux  aym6  mourir  inftruifant  les  Sauuages,  que  de 
fe  mettre  k  couuert  en  les  abandonnant;  j'en  feray 
de  mefme,  ie  mourray  pluftofl  que  de  manquer  k  mes 
compatriotes,  le  leul  defir  de  les  fecourir  pour  leurs 
ames  &  1' amour  que  j'ay  pour  la  Foy  &  pour  la 
Priere,  me  retiendra  aupr^s  de  ceux  qui  donnent 
leur  vie  pour  nous. 

Ce  bon  homme  aymoit  fi  tendrement  ceux  qui 
expofent  leur  vie  pour  noftre  Seigneur,  qu'il  voulut 
qu'vn  petit  fils  que  Dieu  luy  a  donn6  portafl  le  nom 
d'Ifaac  en  I'honneur  du  Pere  Ifaac  logues  maffacr6 
au  pays  des  Hyroquois.  C6t  enfant  eflant  tomb6 
malade  bien-tofl  apres  fon  Baptefme,  il  n'en  accufa 
point  ce  Sac^ment  de  vie  comme  font  les  infideles, 
il  le  prend  entre  fes  bras,  le  porte  ^  I'Eglife,  luy  fait 
le  figne  de  la  Croix  fur  le  front  auec  del'eau  benifle, 
le  prefente  k  Dieu  auec  ces  paroles ;  II  eft  k  toy, 
prends-le,  ou  me  le  rends,  tu  me  I'as  donnd  fais  ce 
que  tu  voudras,  tu  le  peux  guerir,  ie  croy  en  toy,  aye 
pitid  de  moy;  il  ne  fallut  point  d' autre  medecine 
pour  guerir  c6t  enfant,  il  le  remporta  plein  de  vie  en 
fa  cabane;  [127]  fa  mere  s'eftant  trouu^e  fort  mal  fe 
feruit  du  mefme  remede  &  s    •    trouua  tres-bien. 

Le  Pere  tomba  maladr  '^continent  apres,  vn  Fran- 
jois  qui  entend  la  1^  e  des  Sai:  aages  I'allant  vifiter 
luy  deman''      .  "  il  auoit  dans  fa  maladie, 

&  fi  le  d(      )i   *  jint  de  luy  perfuader  que 

ce  mal  p         aoii  a      eance;  II  ne  I'a  ;-^s  encore 


^n 


1660] 


RELA  TION  OF  1649-50 


24» 


our  enemies  proceed.  They  remained  in  [126]  perils 
that  they  mi^ht  assist  those  who  were  unable  to  flee. 
They  preferred  to  die  while  instructing  the  Savages, 
rather  than  to  seek  shelter  by  abandoning  them.  I 
will  do  the  same ;  I  will  die  rather  than  fail  my  fel- 
low-countrymen. This  one  desire,  to  aid  them  for 
the  sake  of  their  souls,  and  the  love  which  I  have 
for  the  Faith  and  for  Prayer,  will  keep  me  near 
those  who  give  their  lives  for  us." 

This  good  man  loved  so  tenderly  those  who  hazard 
their  lives  for  our  Lord,  that  he  resolved  that  a  little 
son  whom  God  had  given  him  should  take  the  name 
of  Isaac,  in  honor  of  Father  Isaac  Jogues,  murdered 
in  the  country  of  the  Hyroquois.  This  child  had 
fallen  sick  soon  after  his  Baptism;  but  he  did  not 
throw  the  blame  on  that  Sacrament  of  life,  as  the 
infidels  do.  He  took  him  into  his  arms,  brought  him 
to  the  Church,  made  on  his  forehead  the  sign  of  the 
Cross  with  holy  water,  and  presented  him  to  God 
with  these  words:  "  He  is  thine;  take  him,  or  give 
him  back  to  me.  Thou  didst  give  him  tome;  do 
what  thou  wilt.  Thou  canst  heal  him ;  I  believe  in 
tliee;  have  mercy  on  me."  No  other  medicine  was 
needed  for  the  healing  of  that  child:  he  brought  him 
back,  full  of  life,  into  his  cabin.  [127]  His  mother, 
being  very  ill,  made  use  of  the  same  remedy,  and 
was  quite  restored. 

The  Father  fell  ill,  immediately  afterward.  A 
Frenchman,  who  understood  the  language  of  the 
Savages,  asked,  while  visiting  him,  what  he  thought 
of  in  his  sickness,  and  whether  the  Demon  was  not 
trying  to  persuade  him  that  this  sickness  proceeded 
from  his  belief.  "  He  has  not  done  so  yet,"  he 
replied;  "  and,  when  he  does,  he  will  gain  nothing. 


■'    \ 

'•I 

till. 


I 


^! 


.a 


^6 


LES  RELATIONS  DES  j£SUITES         [Vol.35 


fait,  r^pondit-il,  &  quand  il  le  feroit  il  n'y  gagneroit 
rien;  j'ay  toufiours  deuant  ler  yeux  vn  certain  dif- 
cours  que  j'ay  entendu  de  la  bouche  de  Noel  Nega- 
bamat,  qu'on  appelle  k  prefent  TeK«erimat:  I'ay 
perdu,  me  difoit-il,  la  plus  part  de  mes  enfans  depuis 
que  ie  fuis  baptifd :  ceux  qui  me  reflcnt  font  tous 
malades,  j 'attends  leur  mort  h  tous  momens,  il  n'y  a 
iour  qu'il  ne  nous  arriue  quelque  perte,  ou.  quelque 
mal-heur,  perdons  tout,  mais  ne  perdons  point  la  Foy. 
Ces  parolles  me  font  demeur^es  protondement  dans 
I'efprit,  Ie  dis  fouuent  a  celuy  qui  a  tout  fait,  ie  ne 
veux  que  la  penfee  que  tu  prends  de  moy,  fais  tout 
ce  que  tu  voudras,  &  ie  I'agreeray;  j'ay  deffein, 
ajouftoit-il,  de  me  confefler  &  de  me  communier 
Dimanche  prochain,  &  puis  [128]  ie  ne  penferay  plus 
^  moy :  il  le  fit  &  guerit ;  Dieu  n'a  pas  moins  d' amour 
pour  les  fimples  que  pour  les  fjauans. 

Ie  coucheray  en  ce  lieu  vne  hiftoire  affez  remar- 
quable.  Vne  jeune  Algonquine  ayant  eft^  prife  en 
fon  pays,  &  menee  dans  le  pays  des  Hyroquois, 
comme  elle  eftoit  affez  bien  faite,  &  d'vn  bon  naturel, 
elle  fit  rencontre  d'vn  bon  mary,  apres  liui(5t  ou  neuf 
ans  de  captiuit^,  elle  tomba  malade,  en  forte  qu'elle 
croyoit  que  c'eftoit  fait  de  fa  vie.  Vne  autre  captiue, 
nomm^e  Monique  I'alla  vifiter:  Remarquez  s'il  vous 
plaift  en  paffant,  vn  trait  de  1' adorable  prouidence 
du  bon  Dieu  fur  fes  ^leus.  Cette  Monique  eftoit 
aueugle  quand  elle  fut  prife,  &  c'eft  vn  miracle  que 
les  Hyioquois  qui  m'affacrent  toutes  les  vieilles 
femmes  &  toutes  les  infirmes  qui  ne  leur  peuuent 
rendre  aucun  fcruice  pardonnerent  k  vn  aueugle: 
mais  Dieu  la  vouloit  conferuer  pour  le  falut  de  plu- 
fieursames;  elle  a  Qi\€  fort  bien  inftruite  en  I'Hof- 


9*^ 


1650] 


RELA  TION  OF  i64g-so 


247 


I  have  always  in  remembrance  a  certain  discourse 
which  I  heard  from  the  lips  of  Noel  Negabamat, 
whom  they  now  call  Tekwerimat.  '  I  have  lost,'  he 
said  to  me,  *  the  greater  number  of  my  children  since 
I  was  baptized ;  those  who  are  left  to  me  are  all  ill : 
I  expect  their  death  at  every  moment.  There  is  not 
a  day  when  some  loss  or  misfortune  does  not  befall 
us;  let  us  lose  all,  but  let  us  not  lose  the  Faith.* 
These  words  have  dwelt  deeply  in  my  mind.  I  say 
often  to  him  who  made  all  things:  '  I  desire  only 
what  thou  choosest  for  me;  do  whacever  thou  wilt, 
and  I  will  accept  it.'  I  intend,"  added  he,  "  to 
confess  and  receive  communion  next  Sunday;  and, 
after  that,  [128]  I  will  think  no  more  about  myself." 
This  he  did,  and  recovered.  God  has  not  less  love 
for  the  simple  than  for  the  wise. 

I  will  set  down  here  a  very  remarkable  story.  A 
young  Algonquin  woman,  seized  in  her  own  country, 
and  taken  to  the  country  of  the  Hyroquois, —  a  some- 
what comely  person,  and  of  good  disposition, —  met 
with  a  good  husband.  After  eight  or  nine  years  of 
captivity,  she  was  taken  so  ill  that  her  life  was  in 
danger.  Another  captive,  named  Monique,  went  to 
visit  her.  Observe,  if  you  please,  in  passing,  a  fea- 
ture of  the  adorable  providence  of  the  good  God  over 
his  elect.  This  Monique  was  blind  when  she  was 
taken  prisoner ;  and  it  was  marvelous  that  the  Hyro- 
quois, who  put  to  death  all  the  old  women  and  the 
infirm,  who  can  be  of  no  use  to  them,  should  spare 
one  who  was  blind.  But  God  chose  to  preserve  her 
for  the  salvation  of  many  souls.  She  had  been  very 
well  instructed  in  the  Hospital  at  Kebek ;  she  under- 
stood the  doctrine  of  Jesus  Christ,  and  conversed  on 
it  with  much   intelligence  and  good  feeling.     God 


% 


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» 


248 


LES  RELA  TIONS  DES  J&SUITES         [Vol.  35 


pital  de  KebeK,  elle  f5ait  la  docftrine  de  lefus-Chrift, 
&  en  parle  tres-bien,  &  auec  beaucoup  de  bons  fenti- 
mens;  Dieu  luy  a  rendu,  non  pas  la  veuS  toute 
entiere,  mais  autant  qu'il  en  faut  [129]  pour  fe  con- 
duire,  &  pour  aller  confoler  les  femmes  &  les  filles 
Chreftiennes  qui  gemiffent  comm*^  elle,  fous  le  poids 
d'vne  rude  captiuit^ :  elle  fait  de  petites  affembl^es, 
elle  inftruit,  elle  catechife,  elle  encourage,  elle 
enfeigne  &  fait  faire  les  prieres  k  fes  compagnes/  en 
vn  mot  Dieu  luy  fait  faire  en  ce  pays  d'horreur  &  de 
tenebres  le  meftier  d'vn  dogique  ou  d'vn  predica- 
teur.  Ay  ant  done  appris  que  la  femme  dont  nous 
voulons  parler  efloit  malade  elle  fe  tranfporte  en  fa 
cabane,  &  luy  remet  en  memoire  ce  qu'elle  auoit 
autresfois  entendu  de  noftre  creance :  voyant  que  la 
malade  prenoit  plaifir  en  ces  difcours,  elle  pourfuit  fa 
pointe,  paffe  la  nui(5t  aupr^s  d'elle,  luy  fait  demander 
pardon  de  fes  f antes,  I'exhorte  ^  fouhaiter  le  faint 
Baptefme  pour  Suiter  les  peines,  &  pour  jouyr  des 
recompenfes  qu'elle  luy  met  deuant  les  yeux.  Cette 
pauure  creature  anim(Se  d'vn  efprit  plus  fort  que  le 
lien,  promit  k  Dieu  qu'elle  chercheroit  toutes  les  voyes 
d'eftre  baptif^e,  fi  fa  bont4  latiroit  de  la  mort  qu'elle 
attendoit.  Sa  priere  fut  exauc^e,  elle  guerit  &  fe 
voulant  en  fuitte  retirer  en  fon  pays  pour  accomplir 
fa  promelTe,  fon  cceur  fut  [130]  combatu  de  diuerfes 
penf^es.  Elle  auoit  vn  petit  fils  dg6  enuiron  de  7. 
ou  8.  ans  qu'elle  aymoit  vniquement,  fon  efpoux  la 
cherilToit  fort,  elle  eftoit  en  pleine  liberty  dans  les 
bourgades  Hyroquoife,  &  les  parens  de  fon  mary  la 
voyoient  de  bon  oeil,  elle  fe  jettoit  dans  le  hazard 
d'eflre  brufl^e  &  rotie  toute  vine  en  cas  de  furprife 
dans   fa  fuitte,  elle   pretendoit   aller   dans  vn  pays 


> 


'.I  ■ 


"f^ 


1650] 


HELA  TION  OF  1649  so 


249 


restored  to  her,  not  full  power  of  vision,  but  as  much 
as  was  necessary  [129]  for  finding  her  way,  and  for 
going  about  to  comfort  the  Christian  women  and 
girls,  who,  like  herself,  were  groaning  under  the 
weight  of  a  harsh  captivity.  She  formed  little 
gatherings;  instructed,  catechized,  encouraged,  and 
taught  them,  and  induced  her  companions  to  pray. 
In  a  word,  God  enabled  her  to  perform,  in  that  land 
of  horror  and  darkness,  the  office  of  a  dogique  or  a 
preacher.  Having  learned,  then,  that  the  woman 
we  are  speaking  of  was  ill,  she  betook  herself  to  her 
cabin  and  reminded  her  of  what  she  had  formerly 
learned  concerning  our  belief.  Seeing  that  the  sick 
woman  took  pleasure  in  these  discourses,  she  pursued 
her  point, —  she  passed  the  night  by  her  side,  induced 
her  to  ask  pardon  for  her  faults,  and  exhorted  her  to 
desire  holy  Baptism  that  she  might  escape  the  pun- 
ishments and  enjoy  the  rewards  which  she  set  before 
her.  This  poor  creature,  animated  by  a  spirit  strong- 
er than  her  own,  promised  God  that  she  would  seek 
every  means  of  being  baptized,  if  his  goodness  would 
deliver  her  from  the  death  she  was  expecting.  Her 
prayer  was  granted,  and  she  recovered ;  and  desiring, 
in  consequence,  to  go  back  to  her  own  country,  in 
order  to  fulfill  her  promise,  her  heart  [130]  struggled 
with  conflicting. thoughts.  She  had  a  little  son,  aged 
about  7  or  8  years,  for  whom  she  entertained  a 
singular  love;  her  husband  loved  her  dearly;  she 
enjoyed  full  liberty  in  the  Hyroquois  villages,  and 
her  husband's  relations  looked  kindly  on  her.  She 
hazarded  the  chance  of  being  burned,  or  roasted 
alive,  in  the  event  of  being  overtaken  in  her  flight. 
She  purposed  going  to  a  country  that  had  been  laid 
waste, — where,  perchance,  not  one  of  her  relations 


I 


rr 


11 


m 


|:    lit 


250 


LAS  J?  EL  A  TIONS  DES  /^SUITES  [Vol.  35 


defol6,  ou  peut-eftre  aucun  de  fes  parens  ne  refloit 
fur  la  terre  pour  la  receuoir;  il  n'importe,  elle  eft 
refolug  de  tenir  la  paroUe  qu'elle  a  donn^e  k  Dieu, 
elle  cherche  les  moyens  d'6uader:  vne  fienne  amie 
captiue  promet  de  luy  tenir  compagnie,  la  conclufion 
eft  prife,  elles  preparent  leur  petit  bagage  qui  ne 
pouuoit  pas  eftre  bien  grand,  puis  qu'il  ne  les  deuoit 
pas  emp^cher,  ny  de  marcher,  ny  de  courir  dans 
les  rencontres.  La  nuit  deftin^e  pour  leur  depart 
commenfant  de  reueftir  la  terre  &  les  forefts  de  fes 
tenebres,  cette  pauure  femme  voulut  prendre  cong6 
de  fon  petit  fils,  les  Sauuages  ont  trop  de  tendreffe 
pour  leurs  enfans,  ils  croyent  fouuent  leur  perfuader 
par  la  raifon,  ce  qu'on  ne  peut  obtenir  d'vn  fi  bas 
age  que  par  la  crainte ;  elle  [131]  luy  tint  ce  difcours ; 
Mon  enfant  ie  ne  fuis  pas  de  ce  pays-cy,  ayant  eft^ 
prife  captiue  dans  le  pays  des  Algonquins  &  amende 
dans  cette  bourgade,  ton  pere  m'a  epouf^e;  mais 
mon  cher  fils  ie  ferois  bien  ayfe  de  voir  encore  vne 
fois  mon  pays,  c'eft  pourquoy  j'ay  refolu  de  te  quit- 
ter; ne  t'en  fache  point,  car  ie  t'ayme  beaucoup; 
I'enfant  fe  mit  a  pleurer,  &  luy  dit;  ma  mere  ie  veux 
aller  auec  vous,  ne  m'abandonnez  pas.  Mon  fils, 
repart  la  mere,  tu  ne  me  f§aurois  fuiure,  tu  ferois 
cauf e  de  ma  mort ;  quand  ie  feray  partie  addreffe-toy 
k  telles  femmes  qui  font  de  mon  pays,  elles  t'enfei- 
gneront  ce  que  tu  dois  f9auoir,  rends  leur  obeyffance, 
&  lors  que  tu  feras  allez  grand  pour  me  venir  trou- 
uer:  fouuiens-toy  que  tu  as  vne  mere  au  pays  des 
Algonquins  qui  t'a  aym6  de  tout  fon  coeur ;  mais  ne 
me  d6couure  point;  car  tu  ferois  caufe  que  ie  ferois 
bruflee.  Ayant  fait  fon  Adieu,  non  fans  larmes 
&   fans   foupirs   de   part   &    d'autre,    il    furuint   vn 


> 


,* 


L 


q« 


'i 


1650] 


RELA  TION  OF  1649-30 


251 


mig'  t  yet  remain  on  earth  to  receive  her.  It  mat- 
tered not;  she  had  resolved  on  keeping  her  word 
that  she  had  pledged  to  God.  She  sought  means  of 
escape ;  and  a  friend  of  hers,  a  captive,  promised  to 
accompany  her.  The  resolution  was  taken;  they 
made  ready  their  little  baggage,  which  could  not  be 
very  extensive,  since  it  must  not  impede  them  in 
difficult  places,  either  in  walking  or  running.  The 
night  determined  on  for  their  departure  had  begun 
to  invest  in  darkness  the  land  and  the  forests,  when 
this  poor  woman  attempted  to  take  farewell  of  her 
little  son.  The  Savages  are  too  fond  of  their  chil- 
dren,—  they  often  trust  to  convince  them  by  reason, 
of  what,  at  so  tender  an  age,  they  can  only  acquire 
by  fear;  she  [131]  spoke  to  him  in  these  terms:  "  My 
child,  I  am  not  of  this  country,  having  been  taken 
captive  in  the  country  of  the  Algonquins,  and  brought 
to  this  village.  Thy  father  married  me:  but,  my 
dear  son,  it  would  delight  me  to  see  once  more  my 
own  country.  For  that  reason,  I  have  resolved  to 
leave  thee;  do  not  sorrow,  for  I  love  thee  much." 
The  child  began  to  weep,  and  said  to  her:  "  My 
mother,  I  will  go  with  you;  do  not  abandon  me." 
"My  child,"  the  mother  replied,  "thou  caiisL  not 
follow  me;  thou  wouldst  be  the  cause  of  my  death. 
When  I  shall  have  gone  away,  address  thyself  to 
such  women  as  are  of  my  country :  they  will  teach 
thee  what  thou  oughtst  to  know:  render  to  them 
obedience.  And,  when  thou  shalt  be  old  enough  to 
come  to  me,  remember  that  thou  hast  a  mother  in 
the  land  of  the  Algonquins,  who  loved  thee  with  all 
her  heart;  but  on  no  account  betray  me,  for  thou 
wouldst  be  the  cause  of  my  being  burned."  Having 
made  her  Adieu,  not  without  mutual  tears  and  sighs, 


H 


J 


V 

,i 

1    • 

1 

1 

'^1 '! 

. 

\^^' 

? 

1 

# 

1 

i 

1     : 

K 

1 

!'• 


h. 


I  ii 


252 


LES  RELATIONS  DES  /^SUITES  [Vol.  35 


emp^chement  qui  retarda  leur  fuitte  fept  ou  huidt 
iours,  &  pendant  tout  ce  temps-Ik  ce  pauure  petit 
innocent  ne  d^couurit  jamais  le  delTein  de  fa  mere, 
ce  filece  eft  rare  en  vn  age  ^\  tendre. 

[132]  Enfin  ces  deux  fugitiues  prenant  I'occafion 
au  poil,  fe  jettent  dans  ces  vaftes  forefts,  ne  portant 
que  la  moiti6  de  leur  vie,  &  encore  eftoit-elle  parta- 
g^e  entre  la  crainte  &  I'efperance:  tout  eft  chemin 
dans  ces  grands  bois,  il  faut  tenir  fa  route  k  la  veue 
des  Aftres  fans  compas,  &  fans  boulTole ;  ayant  defia 
fait  quelques  journdes  de  chemin,  elles  apperjoiuent 
des  Hiroquois  qui  retournoient  de  la  guerre  ou  de  la 
challe,  la  peur  leur  olte  I'efprit  &  vne  partie  de  leurs 
forces;  celle  qui  s'eftoit  rendue  compagne  de  noftre 
captiue,  portant  auec  foy  vn  petit  enfant  qu'elle  auoit 
mis  au  monde  fort  peu  de  iours  deuant  fa  fuitte, 
voyant  que  fon  laidt  s'eftoit  perdu  &  tary,  tant  par  la 
peur  &  par  I'apprehenfion  de  fes  ennemys,  que  par 
les  grands  trauaux  qu' elles  fouffroient  en  vn  voyage 
fi  ^pouuan table,  &  craignant  d'ailleurs  que  les  cris 
&  les  gemiffemens  de  ce  pauure  petit  ne  fiffent  perdre 
&  la  mere  &  I'enfant,  elle  luy  ofta  la  vie,  mais  la 
pauure  mal-heureufe  ne  conferua  pas  la  fienne  par 
cette  mort,  elle  fut  reconnue  &  prife  par  ces  Hyro- 
quois  qui  la  garotterent  pour  eflre  la  pafture  des 
flammes  dans  leur  bourgade:  [133]  mais  redoutant 
les  feux  de  la  terre  &  ne  connoiffant  pas  ceux  de 
I'enfer,  elle  s'y  precipita  par  vne  mort  volontaire  & 
comme  enrag^e. 

Pendant  que  les  ennemis  pourfuiuoient  celle-cy, 
I'autre  fe  cacha  fi  dextrement  qu'elle  6uita  leur  prife, 
&  pourfuiuant  fon  chemin  toute  feule;  eni&n  elle 
arriua  au  pays  des  Chreftiens,  ou  elle  raconta  toutes 


./ 


F»^ 


1660J 


RELA  TION  OF  i64g-so 


253 


lle-cy, 
prife, 
elle 
Itoutes 


there  occurred,  unexpectedly,  a  hindrance  which 
delayed  their  flight  for  seven  or  eight  days;  and, 
during  the  whole  of  that  time,  this  poor  little  inno- 
cent never  made  known  his  mother's  design.  Such 
silence  is  rare  at  so  tender  an  age. 

[132]  At  length  these  two  fugitives,  seizing  oppor- 
tunity by  the  beard,  dashed  into  the  vast  forests, 
taking  with  them  but  half  of  their  lives,  and  even 
that  was  shared  between  fear  and  hope.  In  these 
great  forests,  the  road  is  everywhere.  They  must 
shape  their  course  by  observing  the  Stars,  without 
compass  or  needle.  Having  been  already  some  days 
on  the  way,  they  espied  some  Hiroquois,  who  were 
returning  from  war,  or  from  the  hunt.  Fear  de- 
prived them  of  their  senses,  and,  in  part,  of  their 
strength.  She  who  had  become  our  captive's  com- 
panion bore  with  her  a  little  infant,  whom  she  had 
brought  into  the  world  a  very  few  days  before  her 
flight ;  seeing  that  her  milk  was  gone  and  dried  up, — 
as  much  through  fear  and  dread  of  her  enemies,  as 
by  the  great  toil  she  had  undergone  in  a  journey  so 
appalling, — and  fearing,  moreover,  that  the  cries 
and  wailings  of  the  little  one  would  be  the  ruin  of 
both  mother  and  child,  she  took  its  life.  But  the 
poor  unfortunate  woman  did  not  save  her  own  life 
by  that  death,  for  she  was  recognized,  seized,  and 
bound  by  these  Hyroquois,  that  she  might  be  food 
for  the  flames  in  their  village ;  [133]  but,  dreading 
the  fires  of  earth,  and  having  no  knowledge  of  those 
of  hell,  she,  like  one  maddened,  plunged  headlong 
into  these  by  a  self-inflicted  death. 

While  the  enemy  were  in  pursuit  of  this  woman, 
the  other  so  cleverly  hid  herself  as  to  elude  capture, 
and  proceeded  on  her  way  all  alone.     At  length,  she 


'! 


J 


h\l 


Mi 


LES  RELATIONS  DES  J&SUITES         [Vol.  86 


I 


i  I't 


t\ 


\  I 


1 


r     '' 


\     \ 


fes  auantures;  &  apres  auoir  eft;6  foigneufement 
inftruite  en  la  Foy  de  lefus-Chrift,  elle  fut  baptif6e 
en  fon  nom,  bien  joyeufe  d' auoir  trouu^  la  veritable 
liberty  des  enfans  de  Dieu  par  des  dangers  capables 
d'^pouuanter  des  Geans. 

On  baptifa  k  mefme  temps  vne  femme  dont  la 
conuerfion  ne  femble  pas  moins  miraculeufe,  quoy 
qu'elle  foit  moins  eflrange  en  apparence.  C'eftoit 
vn  efprit  altier,  vne  humeur  d6daigneufe  &  arro- 
gante,  la  fuperbe  eftoit  le  caracilere  qui  la  diftin- 
guoit  des  autres  femmes,  &  vous  eulTiez  dit  que  ce 
mal  eftoit  hereditaire  en  fa  famille,  tant  ceux  qui 
la  touchoient  en  eftoient  empeftez.  Sa  Soeur  aifnde 
eflant  prife  des  Hyroquois  ayma  mieux  fe  tuer  foy- 
mefme,  &  vn  enfant  qu'elle  portoit  auec  elle,  que 
d'eftre  leur  feruante  [134]  ou  leur  efclaue.  II  arriua 
certain  iour,  qu'vn  Pere  de  noftre  compagnie  luy 
parlant,  d^plora  auec  des  paroles  tendres,  mais  effi- 
caces,  le  mal-heur  &  la  punition  de  fa  foeur,  qui  auoit 
fi  fouuent  meprif6  le  Baptefme :  la  crainte  de  tomber 
dans  le  mefme  chaftiment  s'empara  fi  fortement  de 
cette  ame,  qu'elle  fe  fit  inflruire,  &  pourfui[ui]t  fon 
Baptefme  fi  ardamment,  qu'elle  I'obtint  auec  vne  fi 
grande  benedidtion,  qu'il  n'y  a  rien  de  plus  fouple, 
de  plus  obeyffant  &  de  plus  humble  que  cette  femme, 
les  ^preuues  I'ont  rendue  plus  conftante  en  la  Foy, 
elle  a  perdu  fon  mary,  braue  Capitaine  &  bon  chaffeur, 
elle  n'a  plus  qu'vn  fils  pour  tout  fupport,  &  ce  fils  eft 
toufiours  malade :  ce  delaiffement  des  creatures 
I'attaclie  plus  fortement  au  Createur. 

le  ne  f9ay  fl  ie  dois  marcher  plus  auant  dans  les 
bons  fentimens  des  Sauuages,  le  rapport  qu'ils  ont 
les  vns  auec  les  autres  peuuent  donner  du  d^gouft  k 


Pi 


1650J 


RELA  TION  OF  1649-50 


255 


lans  les 
lis  ont 
rouft  k 


reached  the  country  of  the  Christians,  where  she 
related  all  her  adventures;  and  after  having  been 
carefully  instructed  in  the  Faith  of  Jesus  Christ, 
was  baptized  in  his  name, — overjoyed  to  have  found 
the  true  liberty  of  the  children  of  God  by  dangers 
sufficient  to  terrify  Giants. 

There  was  baptized  at  the  same  time  a  woman 
whose  conversion  seems  not  less  wonderful, — though, 
in  appearance,  not  quite  so  unusual.  She  possessed 
a  haughty  spirit,  a  disdainful  and  arrogant  disposi- 
tion. Pride  it  was  that  distinguished  her  from  other 
women:  and  you  would  have  said  that  this  vice  was 
hereditary  in  her  family,  so  much  were  all  her  kin- 
dred infected  with  it.  Her  elder  Sister,  being  made 
prisoner  by  the  Hyroquois,  preferred  destroying  her- 
self, together  with  a  babe  she  carried  with  her,  rather 
than  be  their  servant  [134]  or  their  slave.  It  hap- 
pened on  a  certain  day  that  a  Father  of  our  society, 
talking  with  her,  lamented  in  gentle,  though  forcible 
words,  the  misfortune  and  punishment  of  her  sister, 
who  had  so  often  scorned  Baptism.  The  fear  of 
falling  under  a  similar  chastisement  seized  so  strong- 
ly upon  her  mind,  that  she  received  instruction,  and 
sought  her  Baptism  so  ardently  as  to  obtain  it,  with 
a  blessing  so  great,  that  nothing  could  have  been 
more  compliant,  obedient,  and  humble  than  this 
woman.  Trials  rendered  her  more  steadfast  in  the 
Faith.  She  lost  her  husband,  a  brave  Captain  and  a 
good  hunter.  She  has  now  but  one  son  for  her 
entire  support,  and  he  is  always  ailing.  This  isola- 
tion from  creatures  attaches  her  more  strongly  to 
the  Creator. 

I  do  not  know  whether  I  ought  to  expatiate  further 
on  the  edifying  feelings  of  the  Savages.     The  resem- 


lit 


( 


I 


"r'' 


}•' 


*^ 


f 


266 


LES  RELA  TIONS  DES  j£SUITES         [Vol.  85 


vn  entendement  qui  fuit  de  cent  lieuSs  tout  ce  qui 
paroift  approcher  des  redites,  mais  aufli  faut-il  auouSr 
que  plufieurs  perfonnes  nous  conjurent  de  ne  point 
obmettre  ce  qui  pent  enflammer  la  volont^. 

[135]  Quand  ie  penfe  h.  la  vie  que  j'ay  men^e 
deuant  que  d'eftre  baptif6,  difoit  vn  bon  Neophyte, 
ie  fuis  fi  confus  que  ie  voudrois  me  pouuoir  d6rober 
des  yeux  de  Dieu  &  des  hommes  &  de  moy-mefme ; 
&  fi  pour  expier  mes  offenfes  on  me  difoit  qu'il  fe 
faut  jetter  dans  les  mains  des  Hyroquois,  il  me 
femble  que  j'obeyrois  promrtement. 

Vn  autre  s'eftonnoit,  que  Dieu  eut  tant  de  bont6, 
d'auoir  amene  des  predicateurs  d'vn  pays  fi  efloign6 
pour  Ie  conuertir.  Si  moy  qui  ne  fuis  qu'vn  pauure 
homme,  difoit-il,  refl^ens  tant  de  douleur  de  voir  les 
defordres  de  quelques-vns  de  mes  gens  qui  ne  font 
pas  encore  Chreftiens,  en  forte  que  j'ay  de  la  peine 
de  les  f ouffrir ;  comment  eft-ce  que  Dieu  m'a  fouffert 
tant  d'ann^es?  mais  qui  I'a  port6,  nonobflant  nos 
maladies,  k  me  faire  fon  enfant  ?  il  faut  bien  que  Ie 
cceur  de  Dieu  foit  vn  coerr  de  Pere. 

Vn  autre  inftruit  du  S.  Efprit;  car  les  hommes  ne 
luy  auoient  point  appris  cette  le9on,  difoit,  qu'il  ne 
falloit  pas  benir  Dieu  &  Ie  remercier  feulement  pour 
les  graces  qu'il  nous  a  fait,  il  Ie  faut  benir  auffi  pour 
ceux  qui  ne  Ie  louent  pas;  il  luy  faut  rendre  [136]  des 
adtions  de  graces  pour  les  biens  qu'il  fait  k  ceux  qui 
ne  Ie  connoifTent  pas,  il  Ie  faut  adorer  pour  les  enfans 
qui  n'ont  point  encore  d'efprit  ny  de  jugement.  Si 
quelque  homme  fait  vn  prefent  k  mes  enfans,  ie  Ie 
remercie  pour  eux ;  &  pourquoy  done  ne  benirois-je 
pas  celuy  qui  leur  a  donn^  la  vie,  &  qui  leur  conferue 
auec  tant  de  bont6 ;  ie  Ie  remercie  mef me  pour  les 


\  I 


if? 


1660] 


RE  LA  T/ON  OF  1649-50 


267 


es  ne 
'ilne 
pour 
pour 
ij  des 
qui 
fans 
Si 
ie  le 
ds-je 
erue 
r  les 


blance  which  they  bear  one  to  another  may  be 
distasteful  to  a  mind  which  flees  a  hundred  leagues 
from  what  seems  to  approach  repetition ;  but,  on  the 
other  hand,  it  must  be  said  that  many  persons  entreat 
us  to  omit  nothing  whatever  that  can  kindle  the  will. 

[135]  "  When  I  reflect  on  the  life  which  I  led  be- 
fore being  baptized,"  said  a  good  Neophyte,  "  I  am 
so  confounded,  that  I  would  hide  from  the  eyes  of 
God  and  man,  and  from  myself;  and  if,  to  expiate 
my  offenses,  I  were  told  that  I  must  cast  myself  into 
the  hands  of  the  Hyroquois,  it  seems  to  me  that  I 
would  promptly  obey. ' 

Another  wondered  that  God  had  so  much  goodness 
as  to  have  brought  preachers  into  so  distant  a  coun- 
try, to  convert  it.  "If  I,"  said  he,  "  who  am  but  a 
poor  man,  feel  such  distress  at  seeing  the  licentious- 
ness of  some  of  my  people,  who  are  not  yet  Chris- 
tians, that  it  gives  me  pain  to  endure  them,  how  is 
it  that  God  has  borne  with  me  for  so  many  years? 
But  who  has  moved  him,  notwithstanding  our  evil 
ways,  to  make  me  his  child  ?  It  must  indeed  be  that 
the  heart  of  God  is  that  of  a  Father. ' ' 

Another  —  instructed  by  the  Holy  Ghost,  for  men 
had  never  taught  him  this  lesson  —  observed  that 
we  ought  not  to  bless  and  thank  God  solely  for  the 
favors  he  has  bestowed  upon  ourselves, — we  should 
bless  him  also  on  behalf  of  those  who  do  not  praise 
him;  we  should  render  to  him  [136]  thanksgivings 
for  the  benefits  which  he  confers  on  those  who  do 
not  know  him.  We  should  adore  him  on  behalf  of 
children  who  have,  as  yet,  neither  sense  nor  judg- 
ment. "  If  some  man  makes  a  present  to  my 
children,  I  thank  him  on  their  behalf;  and  why,  then, 
should  I  not  bless  him  who  gave  them  life,  and  has 


'I     il 


I! 


I 
I 


I     \ 


I 


) 


m 


f 


\ 


f     I 


'I 


258 


I.ES  REI.A  TIONS  DES  //^.SUITES         f Vol.  38 


autres  enfans,  afin  qui  fi  leurs  parens  s'en  oublioient, 
Dieu  re9oiiie  honneur  &  loliaage  des  biens  qu'il  depart 
k  fes  creatures. 

Vn  Capitaine,  homme  de  confideration,  demandoit 
d'eftre  inltruit  &  d'eftre  baptif^,  le  Pere  h  qui  11 
s'adrefTa  le  voulant  ^prouuer,  I'^couta  affez  froide- 
ment,  &  luy  dit,  viens-moy  trouuer  tous  les  iours,  &  fi. 
ie  ne  fuis  pas  k  la  maifon,  retourne  vne  autrefois;  il 
venoit  en  certain  temps  jufques  k  cinq  ou  fix  fois 
pour  vn  iour,  il  n'y  a  rien  qui  dloigne  tant  de  Dieu, 
&  qui  foit  plus  oppof^  k  la  verit6  qui  le  faft,  &  que 
I'orgueil,  I'humiliation  eft  la  pierre  de  touche  de  la 
Foy  &  des  vertus  folides;  le  Pere  inftruifoit  ce 
Capitaine,  comme  s'il  eut  inftruit  vn  enfant.  Enfin 
c(5t  homme  connut  bien  qu'on  vouloit  d^couurir  [137] 
s'il  auoit  vne  bonne  &  forte  volont6  d'embrafl!er  vne 
Loy  qui  fait  profeffion  de  la  Croix,  de  la  pauuret^  & 
de  r  humility.  II  apporte  aux  pieds  du  Pere  fes 
richeffes  qui  confiftoient  en  quelques  coliers  de  porce- 
laine,  &  luy  dit;  mon  pere  donne  tout  cela  aux 
pauures,  &  f9ache  que  j'ayme  la  Foy  plus  que  tous 
les  biens  de  la  terre;  «&  en  fuitte  d^couurant  fes 
6paules,  fais-moy  fuftiger  bien  ferr^  pour  mes  offen- 
fes,  &  tu  f9auras  que  ie  ne  crains  point  les  fouffran- 
ces,  ny  la  confufion:  fa  conflance  &  vn  danger  de 
mort  ou  il  fe  rencontra,  luy  firent  donner  le  Baptefme. 
Si-toft  qu'il  fut  Chreftien  il  s'^cria  deuant  fes  gens/ 
fgachez  que  c'eft  du  fond  de  mon  coeur  que  j'ay 
embrafT^  la  pierre  [sc.  priere] ;  Si  vous  me  voyez 
jamais  reculer,  ie  vous  donne  toute  liberty  de  vous 
rire  &  de  vous  mocquer  de  mon  inconftance. 

Vn  chaffeur  ayant  eu  quelque  inftrudtion,  fe  mit  k 
genoux  pour  remercier  Dieu  apres  auoir  tu^  vn  grand 


T^ 


1660] 


RELA  T/ON  OF  1649-50 


S69 


Imit  \ 
rrand 


preserved  them  with  so  much  goodness?  I  thank  him 
myself  on  behalf  of  other  children,  that,  should  their 
relatives  forget  them,  God  may  receive  honor  and 
praise  for  the  benefits  which  he  dispenses  to  his 
creatures. ' ' 

A  Captain,  a  prominent  man,  asked  to  be  instracted 
and  baptized.  The  Father  to  whom  he  addressed 
himself,  wishing  to  prove  him,  listened  to  him  some- 
what coldly,  and  said  to  him,  "  Come  to  me  every 
day ;  and,  if  I  am  not  at  home,  come  back  another 
time."  He  came  at  stated  hours,  as  many  as  five  or 
six  times  a  day.  There  is  nothing  which  so  removes 
us  from  God  as  display  and  pride ;  humiliations  are 
the  touchstone  of  Faith,  and  of  solid  virtue.  The 
Father  instructed  this  Captain  as  if  he  had  been 
instructing  a  child.  At  length,  that  man  well  under- 
stood that  we  wished  to  discover  [137]  whether  he 
possessed  a  good  and  strong  intention  to  embrace  a 
Law  which  made  profession  of  the  Cross,  of  poverty, 
and  of  humility.  He  brought  to  the  feet  of  the 
Father  his  riches,  which  consisted  of  some  porcelain 
collars,  and  said  to  him:  "  My  father,  give  all  that 
to  the  poor,  and  know  that  I  love  the  Faith  more 
than  all  the  riches  of  earth;  "  and  then,  baring  his 
shoulders,  "  Cause  me  to  be  scourged  right  well  for 
my  offenses,  and  thou  shalt  know  that  I  fear  neither 
sufferings  nor  shame."  His  steadfastness,  and  a  dan- 
ger of  death  which  befell  him,  caused  Baptism  to  be 
granted  him.  As  soon  as  he  became  a  Christian,  he 
exclaimed  before  his  people:  "  Know  that  it  has 
been  from  the  depths  of  my  heart  that  I  have 
embraced  the  prayer;  if  you  see  that  I  ever  go  back, 
I  give  you  full  liberty  to  jeer  and  to  mock  at  my 
inconstancy." 


** 


h 


life 


ii  -t'    i 


5        i' 


An 


» ?  * 


l! 


■      |1 


260 


LES  RELATIONS  DES  jtSUITES         [Vol.  35 


Cerf,  fon  camarade  fe  trit  ^  rire;  j'ay,  fit  il,  appris 
cela  des  Chreftiens,  I'autre  s'en  gaufle  &  le  poulTe 
du  pied  pour  le  faire  leuer,  difant,  qu'il  auoit  bien 
vefcu  jufqubs  alors  fans  ces  badineries,  &  que  fon 
bon-heur  [138]  ne  d^pendoit  pas  de  nos  ceremonies: 
k  quelque  temps  de  Ik,  ce  fanfaron  s'eftant  embarqu^ 
dans  vn  canot,  fit  naufrage,  &  s'en  reuint  tout  dela- 
br6  &  "k  demy  mort;  noflre  chaffeur  luy  dit,  fi  tu 
eufl^e,  pri6  le  Dieu  des  Chreftiens,  peut-eftre  t'auroit- 
il  preferu^  de  ce  mal-heur.  Ce  miferable  s'en  gauffa 
derechef,  mais  s'eftant  mis  fur  I'eau  vne  autre  fois, 
fon  petit  bafteau  d6corce  renuerfa  dedans  par  vn  beau 
temps ;  on  eut  peine  de  retirer  fon  corps  des  portes 
de  la  mort,  Dieu  veuille  que  fon  ame  en  re^oiue  la 
vie:  quoy  qu'il  en  foit,  noftre  chaffeur  touch^  de  ce 
chaftiment,  nous  vint  trouuer  &  nous  dit;  qu'vn 
nomm6  Atcheens,  Capitaine  de  la  nation  d'Yroquet 
r  auoit  encharg^  de  fe  faire  baptifer.  Ne  fais  pas 
comme  moy,  luy  difoit-il,  j'ay  neglig6  le  Baptefme 
penchant  la  vie,  ie  le  fouhaite  k  la  mort,  &  ie  ne  le 
puis  auoir :  ah!  que  j'ay  de  regret  de  mourir  dans  vn 
lieu  'loignd  des  Pran^ois:  mon  cceur  eft  trifte,  ie 
fuis  priu6  de  I'vnique  bien  qui  me  pourroit  confoler; 
fois  fage,  mon  chtr  amy,  n' attends  pas  k  la  mort  k  te 
coxiuertii ;  pour  conclufion,  ce  bon  chaffeur  fut  mis 
au  nombre  des  Catecumtnes. 

[139]  Difons  deux  mots  des  Atticamegues,  & 
finifTons  ce  Chapitre.  Ceb  peuples  deleguerent  vn 
vray  Ifraelite  a'entr'eux,  pour  nous  venir  voir,  & 
pour  emmener  en  leur  pays  le  Pere  qui  a  vn  foin 
particulier  de  cette  MifTion.  Ce  pauiire  Pere  n'y  put 
aller,  pource  qu'il  n'y  auoit  pour  lors  que  deux  de 
♦^os  Peres   aux    Trois   ri  ieres  pour  le  fecours  des 


V 


■'  ■*  ■,^. 


Vou  36 

appris 
pouffe 
X  bien 
le  fon 
Lonies: 
barqu6 
It  dela- 
:,  fi  tu 
auroit- 
.  gauffa 
re  fois, 
/n  beau 
3  portes 
goiue  la 
i6  de  ce 
;    qu'vn 
Yroquet 
fais  pas 
aptefme 
1  ie  ne  le 

ans  vn 

.rifle,  ie 

-onf  oler ; 

lort  k  te 

fut  mis 

jues,  Sc 
;rent  vn 

voir,  & 
vn  foin 
n'y  put 

denx  de 

)urs  des 


1650] 


JiULA  TION  OF  i64g-so 


261 


:'iM 


A  hunter,  who  had  received  some  instruction,  fell 
on  his  knees  to  thank  God,  after  having  killed  a  large 
Stag;  his  comrade  began  to  jeer.  "  I  have,"  said 
he,  "  learned  this  from  the  Christians.  The  other 
made  game  of  him,  and  pushed  him  with  his  foot, 
to  make  him  rise,  saying  that  he  had  always  lived 
well,  up  to  that  time,  without  such  follies;  and  that 
his  good  fortune  [138]  depended  not  on  our  ceremo- 
nies. Some  time  afterward,  this  braggart,  having 
set  out  in  his  canoe,  was  wrecked,  and  came  back 
quite  woebegone,  and  half  dead.  Our  hunter  said  to 
him :  "  If  thou  hadst  prayed  to  the  God  of  the  Chris- 
tians, perhaps  he  would  have  preserved  thee  from 
this  misfortune."  The  miserable  man  again  mocked 
at  him;  but,  venturing  once  more  on  the  water,  in 
fair  weather,  his  frail  bark  canoe  again  upset.  It 
was  with  difficulty  that  his  body  was  rescued  from 
the  gates  of  death;  God  grant  that  his  soul  may 
receive  life.  However,  our  hunter,  affected  by  this 
chastisement,  came  and  told  us  that  a  man  named 
Atcheens,  Captain  of  the  Yroquet  nation,  had  charged 
him  to  become  baptized.  "  Do  not  as  I  did,"  he  said 
to  him.  "  I  made  light  of  Baptism  during  life:  I 
wish  for  it  in  the  hour  of  death,  and  cannot  have  it. 
Ah !  how  I  regret  having  to  die  in  a  spot  far  distant 
from  the  French;  my  heart  is'^ad;  I  am  deprived  of 
the  one  blessing  that  could  comfort  me.  Be  wise, 
my  dear  friend;  wait  not  thy  conversion  till  death." 
To  conclude ;  this  fi^ood  hunter  was  received  into  the 
number  of  the  Catechumens. 

[139]  Let  us  say  a  word  or  two  about  the  Attica- 
megues,  and  finish  this  Chapter.  These  people 
delegated  a  true  Israelite  among  them  to  come  and 
see  us,  and  to  take  back  to  their  own  country  th« 


I       ;»« 


262 


LES  RELA  TIONS  DES  jASUITES         [Vol.  86 


i 


It 


j 


\^ 


\ 


ii 


Frangois  &  des  Sauuages.  le  ne  fgay  lequel  des  deux 
fut  plus  trifle,  ou  ce  bon  Ifraelite  nomm6  Antoine, 
aag6  d'enuiron  55.  ans,  ou  le  Pere,  a  qui  les  larmes 
venoient  aux  yeux,  entendant  les  amoureux  reproches 
que  luy  faifoit  ce  fidele  MelTager.  Que  diront  ceux 
qui  te  fouhaitent  auec  impatience,  &  qui  ont  vn  fi 
grad  defir  de  fe  confelTer?  que  ferot  mes  enfans  qui 
n'ot  pas  encor  receu  le  Baptefme?  ma  femme  qui  n'a 
pu  defcendre  iufques  icy  ne  me  verra  pas  de  bon  oeil, 
fi  ie  retourne  fans  t'embarquer?  faut-il  done  que 
nous  foyons  feparez  apres  noftre  mort?  que  les  vns 
foient  bien-heureux,  &  les  autres  mal-beureux,  fi 
j'eufTe  pu  apporter  toute  maf.  lUe  fur  mes  efpaules 
ie  I'aurois  fait,  mais  les  chemins  font  efpouuantables. 
Si  les  autres  qui  ne  peuuent  furmonter  ces  difficultez, 
viennent  k  [140]  mourir  fans  Baptefme,  "k  qui  en  fera 
la  faute?  pour  conclufion  le  Pere  ordonna  que  I'vn 
des  plus  fages  d'entr'eux  confereroit  le  faint  Baptefme 
k  ceux  qu'on  verroit  en  danger  de  mort,  &  qu'on 
porteroit  les  autres  k  former  fouuent  des  ac5tes  d'vn 
pur  amour,  &  d'vne  contrition  parfaite,  pour  fuppl^er 
au  defaut  du  Sacrement  de  Penitence.  II  eft  vray 
que  ces  bonnes  gens  menent  vne  vie  fi  innocente  que 
le  Pere  fe  confoloit  dans  rimpuillance  de  les  aller 
fecourir. 

II  a  fgeu  depuis,  que  la  femme  d'vn  Capitaine  eftoit 
morte  fans  ConfelTion;  iamais,  dit-il,  on  n'a  veu 
femme  plus  zel^e  pour  la  Foy,  elle  a  conuerty  fon 
mary,  fon  gendre,  &  toute  fa  famille,  &  quantity  d' au- 
tres perfonnes.  Elle  demandoit  tous  les  iours  k  Dieu 
la  grace  de  ne  point  mourir  qu'ap'^^s  auoir  receu  tous 
fes  Sacremens.  II  ne  luy  a  pas  accord^  oette  faueur, 
mais  il  luy  auoit  donn^   vne   fi   grande   innocence, 


s 


■tj^.t-iik«kt..,-i  .fi;v«/:vja 


•  —  ~  ~  ~ 


uau 


1650] 


RELA  TION  OF  i64g-5o 


268 


eftoit 
a  veil 
rty  fon 
€  d'au- 
^Dieu 
ju  tons 
aueur, 
cence, 


Father  who  has  special  charge  of  that  Mission.  This 
poor  Father  could  not  go,  there  being,  at  that  time, 
only  two  of  our  Fathers  at  Three  rivers,  to  minister 
to  the  French  and  the  Savages.  I  do  not  know  which 
of  the  two  was  the  more  sad, —  the  good  Israelite, 
who  was  named  Antoine,  and  aged  about  5  5  years ; 
or  the  Father,  whose  tears  came  to  his  eyes  on  listen- 
ing to  the  loving  expostulations  made  by  this  faithful 
Messenger.  "  What  will  they  say  who  impatiently 
long  for  thee,  and  so  greatly  desire  confession  ?  What 
will  my  children  do,  who  have  not  yet  received 
Baptism?  or  my  wife,  who  could  not  come  down  here, 
and  will  not  look  upon  me  with  a  kindly  eye  if  I 
return  without  thee  on  board?  Must  we,  then,  be 
separated  after  our  deaths?  Must  some  be  blest,  and 
others  wretched?  If  I  could  have  brought  all  my 
family  upon  my  shoulders,  I  would  have  done  it; 
but  the  roads  are  frightful.  If  others,  who  cannot 
surmount  these  difficulties,  come  to  [140]  death  unbap- 
tized,  with  whom  will  lie  the  blame?"  In  the  end, 
the  Father  decided  that  one  of  the  most  intelligent 
among  them  should  bestow  holy  Baptism  on  those 
who  should  be  in  manifest  danger  of  death;  and  thac 
others  should  be  induced  to  offer  frequent  acts  of 
pure  love  and  perfect  contrition,  to  supply  the  lack 
of  the  Sacrament  of  Penanre.  In  truth,  these  good 
people  led  so  innocent  a  life,  that  the  Father  consoled 
himself  for  his  inability  to  go  to  their  aid. 

He  has  learned,  since  then,  that  the  wife  of  a 
Captain  had  dieu  without  Confession.  ' '  Never, ' '  said 
he,  "has  a  woman  been  seen  more  zealous  for  the 
Faith.  She  converted  her  husband,  her  son-in-law, 
and  her  whole  family,  and  many  other  persons.  She 
entreated  from  God,   every  day,  the  favor  that  she 


V    i: 


)        I 


\ 


i  .  f 


264 


LES  RELATIONS  DES  Jl^SUITES         [Vol.35 


&  vne  telle  crainte  &  horreur  du  pecti^,  qu'elle  ne 
manquoit  iamais  de  s'dueiller  tous  les  Samedis  fur 
la  minuit ;  &  alors  f e  mettant  "k  genoux  elle  exami- 
noit  fa  confcience,  puis  s'adrelTant  k  noflre  Seigneur, 
elle  luy  confeffoit  toUv^i  fes  [141]  pechez  comme  elle 
auroit  fait  deu^int  vn  Preftre,  recitant  en  fuite  quel- 
ques  prieres,  comme  fi  ce  veritable  Pontife  luy  eut 
donn6  pour  penitence.  Dieu  eft  bon,  &  fa  bont6  fe 
r6pand  iufques  dans  le  fonds  de  la  Barbarie. 

Le  Pere  adjoufte  que  quelques  Sauuages  inftruits 
dedans  ces  vaftes  forefts,  fans  iamais  auoir  veu  aucuns 
Europeans,  font  venus  demander  le  Baptefme,  reci- 
tans  brauement  les  prieres  qu'ils  auoient  apprifes  de 
la  bouche  des  Chrefliens  qui  habitent  ces  grands 
bois.  II  me  femble  que  nous  pouuons  dire  des  graces 
de  Dieu  ce  qu'on  dit  du  Soleil/  Nee  eji  qui  fe  abfcon- 
dat  h  caiore  eius,  il  n'y  a  perfonne  qui  ne  reffente 
quelques  effets  de  cette  chaleur  diuine. 


.1 


■^v^'v-. 


1660J 


RELA  TION  OF  1649 -jo 


265 


minti  °R  "^Jr/"  "'^  """^  """'"^"^  ^"  '^«  Sacra, 
ments.     He  did  not  accord  her  that  favor,  but  gave 

her  an  .nnocence  .o  exalted,  and  such  a  fear  and  hor- 

Z,f/-  .    '  "^'  "''"'  f^"^'J  '°  -^"^^n.  on  every 
Saturday  about  midnight;  then,  kneeling  down,  she 

examined  her  conscience.     Next,  addressing  herself 
to  our  Lord   she  confessed  to  him  all  her  [74,]  sins 
^  she  would  have  done  to  a  Priest,- reciting  af^r! 
ward  some  prayers,  as  if  he,  the  real  Pontfff,  had 
given  them  to  her  for  a  penance/'     God  is  good  and 

wiSn  f^""""  ^'^^!  *^*  '"""^   ^^'^^^^^   instructed 
w  th,„  these  vast  forests,  who  had  never  seen  any 

reciting  the  prayers  they  had  learned  from  the  lips 
of  Christians  who  inhabit  these  great  woods  It 
seems  to  me  that  we  can  say  of  the  graces  of  God 

If  ''"^t  "?'  ^""'  "^^  "'  ^"^  "  "''""''-'  ^  -'"- 
il:7  J^^'^J^  °°  P^'''°°  ^"'o  feels  not  some 
effects  of  this  divine  warmth. ' ' 


!  « 


1       '    I 


266 


LES  RELA  TIONS  DES  /^SUITES         [Vol.  35 


)        I 


I) 


?k  tj 


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[142]  CHAPITRE  XII. 

DE   LA   MISSION   DE   SAINTE   CROIX   A   TADOUSSAC. 

LE  Pere  qui  cultiua  Tan  pafl^  cette  MiiTion,  dit 
dans  fes  Memoires,  que  ce  qu'il  en  a  remarqu6 
de  plus  confiderable,  fe  rapporte  au  zele  ardant 
que  les  Sauuages  Chreftiens  &  leurs  Capitaines  ont 
fait  paroiftre  pour  Tamplification  du  Royaume  de 
lefus-Chrift,  &  pour  ^carter  le  vice  de  leur  nouuelle 
Eglife. 

En  voicy  quelques  exemples.  Ce  bon  T  jre  les 
eltans  venus  vifiter  apres  Pafques,  ils  le  prierent  de 
leur  faire  adorer  la  fainte  Croix,  comme  les  Chre- 
fliens  de  S.  lofeph  I'auoient  adore  la  Semaine  fainte. 
II  ne  faut  pas,  difoient-ils,  que  pour  auoir  eft6  priuez 
de  Preftres  en  ce  faint  Temps,  nous  foyons  encore 
priuez  du  fouuenir  de  la  mort  de  noftre  Redempteur. 
Ils  fe  difpoferent  ^  cette  grace,  huidt  iours  durant,  fe 
conf elTans  deux  fois  felon  leur  couftume :  quand  ils 
paffent  quelques  [143]  mois  fans  pouuoir  approcher 
de  ce  Sacrement :  ils  iirent  vn  jeufne  public  &  vni- 
uerfel,  &  vn  iour  de  Vendredy  ils  rendirent  leurs 
deuoirs  k  lefus-Chrift  mourant,  auec  tant  de  fenti- 
mens  de  piet6  &  de  deuotion,  que  les  Frangois  qui 
affifterent  k  cette  fainte  ceremonie,  ne  pouuoient  affez 
admirer  la  ferueur  de  ces  bons  Neophytes. 

Quelques-vns  touchez  de  regret  d'auoir  offenf^ 
Dieu,   pour  s'eftre    laiff^  autresfois  furprendre  des 


1650] 


RELATION  OF  i64g-so 


267 


[142]  CHAPTER  XII. 


OF  THE   MISSION   OF  THE   HOLY  CROSS  AT  TADOUSSAC. 


«l 


)£fenf6 
ire  des 


THE  Father  who  last  year  had  the  direction  of 
this  Mission  says  in  his  Memoirs  that  what  he 
has  observed  in  it  as  most  noteworthy  relates 
to  the  burning  zeal  which  the  Christian  Savages  and 
their  Captains  have  manifested  for  the  extension  of 
the  Kingdom  of  Jesus  Christ,  and  the  banishing  of 
vice  from  their  new  Church. 

^  Here  are  some  examples.  This  good  Fathe.  .av- 
ing  come  to  visit  them  after  Easter,  they  asked  to  be 
allowed  to  venerate  the  holy  Cross  as  the  Christians 
of  St.  Joseph  had  venerated  it  during  holy  Week. 
"  It  ought  not  to  be,"  they  said,  "  that,  because  we 
have  been  deprived  of  Priests  throughout  this  holy 
Season,  we  should  be  debarred,  besides,  from  this 
memorial  of  the  death  of  our  Redeemer."  During 
eight  days,  they  prepared  themselves  for  this  favor, — 
going  to  confession  twice,  as  is  their  usage  when 
they  pass  some  [143]  months  without  being  able  to 
approach  that  Sacrament.  They  held  a  public  and 
universal  fast ;  and  on  a  Friday  they  offered  reverence 
to  Jesus  Christ  dying,  with  such  emotions  of  piety 
and  devotion,  that  the  French,  who  assisted  at  the 
holy  ceremony,  could  not  sufficiently  admire  the  fervor 
of  these  good  Neophytes. 

Some — touched  with  regret  at  having  offended 
God  by  having  allowed  themselves,  on  former  occa- 
sions, to  be  beguiled  by  the  intoxicants  which  the 


268 


LES  RELA  TIONS  DES  J  ^SUITES         [Vol.  35 


I 


(     -^ 


boiffons,  que  les  Fran9ois  leur  portent ;  protefterent 
tout  haut,  &  tout  publiquement,  qu'ils  eitoiet  indignes 
de  s'approcher  de  I'lmage  de  lefus-Chrift,  demandant 
qu'il  leur  fut  feulemen'.  permis  de  baifer  le  paue  de 
I'Eglife. 

Quelques  petits  enfans  s'eftans  apperceus  qu'on 
emportoit  la  fainte  Croix  deuant  que  leurs  parens 
leur  euflent  fait  baifer,  demanderent  par  leurs  larmes 
&  par  leurs  cris,  &  par  leurs  begayemens,  qu'on  la 
remit,  afin  qu'ils  la  piiffent  adorer  aulTi  bien  que  les 
autres. 

II  femble,  dit  le  Pere,  que  noftre  Sei^meur  laiffa 
d^couler  quelque  petite  goute  de  fon  Sang  dans  les 
coeurs  de  ces  bonnes  [144J  gens;  car  au  fortir  de  Ik 
les  Capitaiues  &  les  principaux  Chrefliens,  enflam- 
mez  contre  la  vice  qui  regne  dauanuage  h.  Tadouflac 
h.  la  venue  des  vaiffeaux,  cauf6  par  le  vin,  &  par  I'eau 
de  vie  qu'on  leur  vend,  proteflerent  hautement,  que 
ceux  qui  auoient  approche  leur  bouche  des  playes  de 
lefus-Chrift  en  fon  image,  feroient  rudement  chaftiez 
fi  d'orefnauant  ils  la  profanoient  par  I'yurognerie. 

En  fuite  de  cette  publication,  ceux  qui  auoient  des 
barils  pleins  de  ces  boiffons,  cachez  dedans  la  terre, 
les  apportoient  au  Pere,  luy  difans  que  tandis  qu'il 
tiendroit  leur  Demon  familiar  en  prifon,  il  ne  leur 
pourroit  nuire. 

Ils  ordonnerent  encore,  que  perfonne  ne  traitat  ou 
n'achetat  de  ces  boiffons  que  par  I'ordre  du  Pere 
donn6  par  efcrit,  &  que  fi  quelqu'vn  y  contreuenoit, 
qu'il  feroit  cenf^  pour  yurogne,  &  puny  comme  tel. 

En  troifi(§me  lieu,  ils  fupplierent  tres-hurablement 
Monfieur  le  Gouuerneur  qu'il  fit  dreffcr  vne  prifon  k 


35 


1660] 


RELA  TION  OF  i64g-so 


249 


tat  ou 

Pere 

moit, 

tel. 

[ment 

If  on  ^ 


French  bring  them  —  protested  loudly  and  publicly 
that  they  were  unworthy  to  draw  near  to  the  image 
of  Jesus  Christ ;  and  requested  that  they  should  be 
permitted  only  to  kiss  the  pavement  of  the  Church. 

Sonie  little  children,  noticing  that  the  holy  Cross 
had  been  removed  before  their  parents  had  nade 
them  kiss  it,  besought  with  tears  and  cries,  in  their 
childish  accents,  that  it  should  be  put  back  again, 
that  they  might  venerate  it,  as  well  as  the  others. 

"  It  seems,"  said  the  'P'ather,  "  that  our  Lord  per- 
mits some  tiny  rill  of  his  Blood  to  flow  down  into 
the  hearts  of  these  good  [144]  people;  for,  on  leav- 
ing, the  Captains  and  the  leading  Christians,  incensed 
against  the  vice  which  is  more  than  ordinarily 
prevalent  at  Tadoussac  on  the  arrival  of  the  vessels,  in 
consequence  of  the  wine  and  brandy  that  is  sold  to 
them,  protested  loudly  that  they  whose  lips  had 
touched  the  wounds  of  Jesus  Christ  on  his  image 
should  be  severely  chastised  if,  in  future,  they  pro- 
faned their  lips  by  drunkenness." 

In  consequence  of  this  notification,  those  who  had 
barrels  filled  with  these  liquors,  hidden  underground, 
brought  them  to  the  Father, —  telling  him  that,  as 
long  as  he  kept  their  familiar  Demon  in  prison,  he 
could  not  injure  them. 

They  enacted,  moreover,  that  no  one  should  trade 
or  purchase  these  liquors  except  by  order  of  the  Fa- 
ther, given  in  writing;  and  that  any  one  transgress- 
ing this  rule  should  be  regarded  as  a  drunkard,  and 
punished  as  such. 

In  the  third  place,  they  humbly  entreated  Mon- 
sieur the  Governor  that  he  would  cause  a  prison  to 
be  erected  at  Tadoussac,  and  any  who  were  stained 
with  this  crime  to  be  punished  and  chastised. 


270 


LES  RELATIONS  DES  jASUITES        [Voi..  3S 


H  f  W 


w 


.1 


«t       > 


TadoulTac,  &  qu'il  fit  punir  &  chaftier  ceux  qui 
feroicnt  entachez  de  ce  crime. 

En  quatrit^me  lieu,  vn  Capitaine  alTcz  [145]  fujet  ^ 
cettc  maladie  protelta  par  vn  cry  publir,  que  fi  iamais 
on  le  voyoit  eltourdy  de  boiffon,  11  vouloit  le  premier 
fubir  toute  la  rigueur  des  loix,  &  que  pour  la 
mauuaife  edification  qu'il  auoit  autresfois  donn6,  il  fe 
feroit  punir  &  fufliger  publiquement  fi  quelqu'vn  de 
fes  gens  tomboit  dans  cette  faute,  voulant  vanger  en 
fa  propre  perfonne  les  pechez  de  ceux  qui  elloient 
fous  fa  charge. 

Quelque  temps  apres  vn  ieune  homme  parut  ^ 
demy  yure,  ce  Capitaine  voulut  tenir  fa  parole.  II 
fe  trouue  dans  vne  affembl^e  ou  eftoient  la  plufpart 
de  fes  gens,  &  leur  tint  ce  difcours.  Si  vous  auez  de 
I'amour  pour  moy,  faites-le  maintenant  paroiflre, 
tirez  vengeance  de  mon  corps  pour  le  pech6  d'vn  tel; 
fi  quelqu'vn  de  vous  m'efpargne,  ie  le  tiendray  pour 
vn  lafche  &  pour  vn  poltron,  &  pour  vne  perfonne 
peu  affedlionn^e  h.  la  Foy,  &  ^  la  priere:  Ik  deflus  il 
defcouure  fes  efpaules,  commandant  aux  petits  & 
aux  grands  de  le  fuftiger;  la  plufpart  prenans  fes 
paroles  au  pied  de  la  lettre,  obeyrent  fortement  de 
la  main  aufTi  bien  que  du  cceur.  Les  Frangois  qui  fe 
trouuerent  k  ce  fpedlacle,  voyans  qu'on  le  frappoit 
tout  de  bon,  furent  [146]  attendris,  &  quelques-vns 
iufques  aux  larmes,  admirans  la  conftance  &  la  joye 
qu'il  faifoit  paroiftre  dans  le  facrifice  qu'il  offroit  k 
Dieu  pour  le  pech^  de  fon  peuple. 

Celuy  qui  auoit  comis  I'offenfe  voyant  ce  beau  jeu, 
fut  bien  eO.onne,  il  s'auance  &  parle  en  ces  temies  ^ 
fon    Capitaine    qui   efloit    fon   parent.     Mon   coufin 


N 


1650] 


RELA  TION  OF  1649-50 


271 


In  the  fourth  place,  a  Captain  who  was  somewhat 
[145]  given  to  this  weaicness  affirmed,  by  a  public 
declaration,  that,  if  ever  he  were  been  light-headed 
from  drink,  he  would  be  the  first  to  undergo  all  the 
rigor  of  the  laws;  and  that,  because  of  the  bad 
example  he  had  formerly  given,  he  would  punish 
himself  by  being  publicly  scourged,  if  any  one  of 
his  people  should  commit  that  fault, — -wishing  to 
avenge  upon  his  own  person  the  sins  of  those  who 
were  under  his  charge. 

Some  time  after,  when  a  young  man  made  his 
appearance  half  drunk,  this  Captain  wished  to  make 
good  his  word.  He  happen';d  to  be  at  a  meeting 
where  were  gathered  together  the  greater  number 
of  his  people,  and  he  spoke  to  them  as  follows:  "  If 
you  have  any  love  for  me,  display  it  now;  take 
vengeance  upon  my  body  for  the  sin  of  this  one.  If 
any  one  spare  me,  I  shall  regard  him  as  a  coward  and 
a  dastard,  and  as  one  who  cares  little  for  the  Faith 
and  prayer."  Upon  that,  he  bared  his  shoulders, 
ordering  both  great  and  small  to  scourge  him ;  the 
greater  number,  taking  what  he  said  literally,  obeyed 
lustily,  both  with  heart  and  hand.  The  French  who 
were  present,  seeing  they  were  striking  him  in 
earnest,  were  [146]  moved,  some  even  to  tears,  admir- 
ing his  constancy,  and  the  joy  which  he  manifested 
in  the  sacrifice  he  was  offering  to  God  for  the  sin  of 
his  people. 

He  who  had  committed  the  offense,  seeing  this 
admirable  spectacle,  was  a,stounded ;  he  came  forward, 
and  addressed  his  Captain,  who  was  a  relative  of  his, 
in  these  terms:  "  My  cousin,  we  have  but  one  body, 
since  we  have  the  same  blood  in  our  veins.  Thou 
hast  borne  half  of  the  punishment  due  to  my  offense ; 


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272 


LES  RELA  TIONS  DBS  /^SUITES         [Vol.  35 


nous  n'ar  ons  qu'vn  mefme  ccrps,  eftans  paitris  d'vn 
mefme  fang;  tu  as  port6  la  moiti^  du  chafliment 
deub  ^  mon  offenfe,  il  faut  que  le  facrifice  s'acheue 
fur  mon  corps,  I'innocent  a  fouffert,  venons  au  cou- 
pable ;  &  Ik  deffus  il  fe  prefente  k  ceux  qui  efloient 
defia  tous  difpofez  de  luy  faire  la  charity  qu'il  atten- 
doit  de  leurs  mains,  aymant  mieux  fouffrir  en  cette 
vie  que  de  porter  fon  crime  en  1' autre  monde. 

L'vn  des  deux  Capitaines  de  cette  Redudtion, 
apprenant  que  fon  frere  eiloit  fur  le  point  de  faire 
diuorce  auec  fa  femme,  I'aborde  auec  ces  paroles;  le 
ue  f9ay  fi  ie  te  dois  appeller  mon  frere.  fi  tu  quitte 
ta  femme  tu  quitteras  la  Foy,  &  en  fuite  tu  cefferas 
d'eftre  mon  parent  &  mon  alli6,  ou  pluftoft  tu  te 
declareras  mon  ennemy,  auife  k  ce  que  tu  feras,  fi 
tu  fors  de  [147]  I'Eglife  il  faut  fortir  de  TadoufTac, 
&  iamais  n'y  paroiftre,  autrement  ie  te  feray  d^gra- 
der,  ou  abandonner  dans  quelque  Ifle  deferte,  d'ou 
iamais  tu  ne  pourras  fortir.  Ce  pauure  honime 
eflonne  d'vn  tel  difcours,  confefla  ingenuement,  que 
fon  coeur  vouloit  eftre  m^chant,  il  conjure  les  Chre- 
ftiens  de  prier  Dieu  qu'il  luy  pardonne  fon  offenfe, 
il  demande  qu'on  le  puniffe  rigoureufement,  &  que 
c'eit:  I'vnique  mifericorde  qu'il  attend  de  ceux  qui 
croyent  en  Dieu,  auec  lefquels  il  n'ofoit  fe  trouuer 
dans  leurs  faintes  allembl6es  s'en  iugeant  tres- 
indigne. 

Les  Chreftiens  auec  leurs  Chefs,  jadis  fi  ialoux  de 
leur  pais,  &  leur  port  de  Tadouffac,  qu'ils  en  refu- 
foient  la  cognoiflance  aux  autres  Nations,  voyans  que 
les  Peres  ne  pouuoient  pas  les  aller  trouuer  dans  le 
fonds  de  leurs  grands  bois,  les  ont  inuit^es  de  venir 


> 


I  \ 


1650] 


RELA  TION  OF  1649-50 


273 


the  atonement  must  be  completed  upon  my  body. 
The  innocent  has  suffered;  let  us  come  to  the 
guilty."  Thereupon, —  preferring  to  suffer  in  this 
life  rather  than  to  carry  his  crime  into  the  other 
world, — he  offered  himself  to  those  who  were  already 
quite  prepared  to  accord  him  the  charity  he  was 
awaiting  at  their  hands. 

One  of  the  two  Captains  of  this  Reduction,  learn- 
ing that  his  brother  was  on  the  point  of  being 
divorced  from  his  wife,  accosted  him  in  these  words : 
"  I  do  not  know  whether  I  ought  to  call  thee  my 
brother;  if  thou  leave  thy  wife,  thou  leavest  the 
Faith,  and,  in  consequence,  thou  ceasest  to  be  my 
relative  and  ally, —  or,  rather,  thou  declarest  thyself 
my  enemy.  Consider  what  thou  wilt  do ;  if  thou  go 
forth  from  [147]  the  Church,  thou  must  get  thee  out 
of  Tadoussac,  never  to  make  thy  appearance  here 
again.  Otherwise,  I  will  cause  thee  to  be  disgraced, 
or  abandoned  on  some  desert  Island,  whence  thou 
canst  never  escape."  The  poor  man,  astounded  at 
such  words,  frankly  confessed  that  his  heart  had 
consented  to  wickedness,  and  entreated  the  Christians 
to  ask  God  to  pardon  his  offense.  He  begged  that 
he  might  be  punished  with  severity,  saying  that  this 
was  the  one  mercy  he  hoped  for  at  the  hands  of  those 
who  believed  in  God,  among  whom  he  dared  not 
present  himself  in  their  holy  assemblies,  deeming 
himself  most  unworthy. 

The  Christians,  with  their  Chiefs, —  formerly  so 
jealous  of  their  country,  and  their  port  of  Tadous- 
sac, that  they  denied  it  intercourse  with  other  Na- 
tions,—  seeing  that  the  Fathers  could  not  go  to  them 
in  the  depths  of  their  vast  forests,  invited  them  to 
come  and  dwell  near  them,  that  they  might  be  taught 


4 


274 


LES  RELATIONS  DES /^SUITES         [Vol.  35 


U, 


1 


il  - 


demeurer  aupres  d'eux  pour  apprendre  le  chemin  du 
Ciel,  apportant  pour  raifon,  qu'eftans  amis  en  cette 
vie,  il  ne  falloit  pas  eftre  diuifez  en  lautre.  Les 
«papinachi«ek  ont  delia  receu  la  Foy.  Les  8mami8ek 
qui  habitet  les  terres  voifmev*-  de  I'lfle  d'Anticofti  ont 
commence  cette  ann^e  de  paroiftre  k  Tadouffac,  & 
[148]  de  prefter  I'oreille  ^  la  dodtrine  de  lefus-Chrift. 
Ces  bons  Capitaines  leur  ont  fait  des  prefens  pour  les 
attirer  aupres  d'eux,  afin  de  leur  donner  enuie 
d'embraffer  leur  creance. 

Ce  n'eft  pas  tout.  Ces  peuples  qui  cachoient  iadis 
aux  Franjois  les  chemins  des  Nations  oii  ils  vont  tra- 
fiquer,  ne  voulans  pas  mefme  que  nous  en  abordalTions, 
nous  preflent  maintenant  qu'ils  font  Chreftiens,  de 
les  fuiure  dans  ces  vafles  forefts,  pour  baptifer  & 
pour  confefler  les  Nations  qui  ne  peuuent  approcher 
de  leur  pays.  Ils  ont  men6  le  Pere  Gabriel  Druil- 
lettes  dans  ces  contrees  par  vn  chemin  nouueau,  mais 
tres-affreux,  afin  qu'il  vifitat  &  qu'il  confolat  ceux 
qui  ne  le  pouuoient  venir  trouuer  a  Tadouffac.  le 
vy,  dit  le  Fere,  tant  de  ferueur  dans  ces  bons  Neo- 
phytes k  mon  premier  abord,  que  les  fatigues  d'vn 
voyage  efpouuantable,  &  qui  fait  peur  aux  Sauuages 
mefmes,  me  femblerent  bien  douces. 

Si  toft  que  noftre  Canot  parut  k  leurs  yeux,  ils 
accoururent  vers  les  riues  d'vn  grand  lac  fur  kquel 
nous  voguions,  &  m'ayant  reconnu,  la  joye  fe  refpan- 
dit  fur  leur  vifage ;  ils  fe  jettent  k  genoux,  les  petits 
[149]  enfans  m'enuironnent  &  me  careffent  de  tous 
coftez,  les  malades  s'^crient  qu'ils  ne  craignent  plus 
la  mort,  puis  qu'ils  ont  moyen  de  fe  confeffer,  les 
principaux  deleguent  quelques  Canots  'pour  aduertir 


I- 


M 


1850] 


RELA  TION  OF  i64g-so 


276 


the  Heavenly  way, — giving  as  a  reason  that,  being 
friends  in  this  life,  they  ought  not  to  be  separated  in 
the  next.  The  Oupapinachiwek  have  already  re- 
ceived the  Faith.  The  Oumamiwek,  who  inhabit 
lands  in  the  neighborhood  of  the  Island  of  Anticosti, 
have  begun,  this  year,  to  appear  at  Tadoussac,  and 
[148]  to  give  ear  to  the  doctrine  of  Jesus  Christ.  These 
good  Captains  have  presented  gifts  to  them,  to  attract 
them  near  to  themselves,  that  they  may  give  these 
people  a  desire  to  embrace  their  own  belief. 

This  is  not  all.  These  peoples  —  who  formerly 
concealed  from  the  French  the  highways  to  the  Na- 
tions to  whom  they  went  for  traffic,  not  being  willing 
that  even  we  should  approach  them  —  press  us,  now 
that  they  are  Christians,  to  follow  them  into  these 
vast  forests,  in  order  to  baptize  and  confess  the 
Nations  who  cannot  reach  their  country.  They  took 
Father  Gabriel  Druillettes  into  those  regions  by  a 
new  but  most  frightful  road,  that  he  might  visit  and 
comfort  those  who  could  not  come  to  him  at  Tadous- 
sac. "I  saw,"  the  Father  said,  "so  much  pious 
ardor  in  these  good  Neophytes,  on  my  first  arrival, 
that  the  fatigues  of  a  terribla  journey,  which  fright- 
ened even  the  Savages,  seemed  to  me  most  sweet. 

"  As  soon  as  they  caught  sight  of  our  Canoe,  they 
ran  to  the  shores  of  a  large  lake  upon  which  we  were 
paddling;  and,  having  recognized  me,  joy  spread 
itself  over  their  faces.  They  fall  upon  their  knees ; 
the  little  [149]  children  surround  me,  and  caress  me 
on  all  sides ;  the  sick  exclaim  that  they  no  longer  fear 
death,  since  they  can  now  go  to  confession.  The 
chiefs  send  some  Canoes,  to  inform  the  neighboring 
Savages  of  my  coming ;  moreover,  they  erect  for  me 
a  small  Chapel,  which  is  quickly  built. 


i! 


If 


rr< 


j 


i,.  '• 


il  - 


-»;■ 


276 


LES  RELATIONS  DES  jASUITES         [Vol.  3& 


les  Sauuages  voifins  de  ma  venuS.  On  me  dreffe 
cependant  vne  petite  Chapelle,  qui  fut  bien-toft 
baftie. 

Le  Dogique,  c'eft  k  dire  celuy  qui  fait  les  prreres 
publiques  parmy  ces  bonnes  gens,  &  qui  les  inftruit 
en  I'abfence  des  Peres,  fit  rendre  des adtions  de  graces 
k  noftre  Seignenr  pour  noflre  arriu^e,  il  fit  entonner 
des  Cantiques  aux  petits  &  aux  grands,  mais  auec 
tant  de  piet^,  &  de  deuotion,  que  ie  ne  piis  iamais 
parler  que  par  les  yeux,  tant  mon  coeur  eftoit  remply 
de  confolation. 

Ce  bon  Dogique  ne  manquoit  pas  tous  les  iours  de 
vifiter  les  malades,  de  prier  pour  eux,  en  forte  que 
quelques  Payens  touchez  de  cet  exemple,  demandoient 
le  Baptefme,  &  quelques-vns  difoient  tout  haut,  que 
fes  prieres  les  auoient  guaris  de  leurs  maladies. 

II  rendit  vn  compte  tres-exadt  au  Pere  de  tout  ce 
qui  s' eftoit  paIT6  pendant  I'Hyuer  tonchant  le  Chri- 
ftianifme,  il  demandoit  [150]  des  confeils  pour  foy  & 
pou-  cette  petite  Eglife,  auec  autant  d'humilit^,  de 
foumiffion,  &  de  prudence,  qu'on  en  ffauroit  fouhai- 
ter  au  milieu  de  nofire  Europe. 

Vn  vieillard  aag6  d'enuiron  quatre-vingts  ans  fort 
ahurt^  ^  fes  fuperftitions,  voyant  la  bonne  vie  des 
Chreftiens,  &  preftant  I'oreille  aux  paroles  du  Pere, 
le  pria  de  I'inftruire,  proteflant  qu'il  abandonneroit 
fes  anciennes  couflumes  pour  embraffer  les  noftres. 
II  venoit  deux  fois  le  iour  en  la  Chapelle  pour  appren- 
dre,  comme  vn  enfant,  les  elemens  de  noflre  dodtrine, 
&  comme  fa  memoire  efloit  fort  delleichee  on  le 
voyoit  f  ouuent  f e  pourmener  en  des  lieux  6cartez,  repe- 
tant  les  prieres  qu'on  luy  auoit  enfeign^es,  pour  les 
inculquer  plus  auant  dans  le  fonds  de  fon  coeur. 


7  - 


(  If 


^il 


16f.O] 


RELA  TION  OF  1649-50 


277 


'  The  Dogique — that  is  to  say,  he  who  offers  the 
public  prayers  among  these  good  people,  and  who 
insr.ructs  them  in  the  absence  of  the  Fathers  —  offered 
thanksgivings  to  our  Lord  for  our  arrival;  he  sang 
the  Canticles  to  old  and  young,  and  with  so  much 
piety  and  devotion  that  I  could  not  speak,  save  by 
my  eyes,  so  full  was  my  heart  of  consolation. 

"  This  good  Dogique  failed  not,  each  day,  to  visit 
the  sick,  and  to  pray  for  them ;  so  that  some  Pagans, 
touched  by  his  example,  begged  for  Baptism,  and 
some  of  them  publicly  declared  that  his  prayers  had 
cured  them  of  their  diseases. ' ' 

He  rendered  to  the  Father  a  very  exact  account  of 
all  that  iiad  occurred  during  the  Winter,  in  regard  to 
Religion;?  affairs.  He  solicited  [150]  advice,  for  both 
himself  aid  this  little  Church  with  as  much  humility, 
submission,  and  discretion  as  could  be  wished  for  in 
the  heart  of  our  Europe. 

An  old  man,  aged  about  eighty  years,  firmly 
wedded  to  his  superstitions,  observing  the  good  life 
which  the  Christians  led,  and  giving  his  attention  to 
the  words  of  the  Father,  begged  of  him  instruction, — 
protesting  that  he  abandoned  the  ancient  customs  to 
embrace  ours.  He  came  twice  a  day  to  the  Chapel 
in  order  to  learn,  as  a  child,  the  elements  of  our  doc- 
trine ;  and  as  his  memory  had  become  much  enfeebled, 
he  was  often  seen  to  betake  himself  to  out-of-the- 
way  places,  repeating  the  prayers  which  had  been 
taught  him,  that  he  might  impress  them  more  deep- 
ly upon  his  heart. 

All  the  Catechumens  most  earnestly  sought  their 
Baptism.  Among  others,  one,  already  aged,  seeing 
that  the  Father  refused  him  this  grace, —  delaying  it 
until  the  Spring  of  the  following  year,  that  he  might 


I 


¥ 


1 


i  t 


!  '    ' 


'{-:• 


/ 


) 


278 


LES  RELA  TIONS  DES  JASUITES         [Vol.  36 


Tous  les  Catechumenes  pourfuiuirent  ardamment 
leur  Baptefme,  vn  entr'autres  defia  aag6,  voyant  que 
le  Pere  luy  refufoit  cette  grace,  le  remettant  pour 
I'efprouuer  iufques  au  Printemps  de  I'ann^e  fuiuante 
entra  dedans  I'Eglife,  harangua  fortement  en  la 
prefence  de  tous  les  Chrefliens,  proteftant  que  s'il 
mouroit  deuant  ce  temps-Ik,  il  accuferoit  le  Pere 
deuant  la  luflice  de  [151]  Dieu  de  fa  perte  &  de  fa 
damnation. 

Le  Demon  enrag^  de  voir  qu'on  luy  arrachc  des 
mains  vne  proye  dont  il  joiiit  depuis  tant  de  flecles, 
a  tafch^  de  troubler  ces  bons  Neophytes  par  I'impo- 
fture  d'vn  ieune  homme,  que  fes  parens  proteftent 
auoir  enfeuely  &  enterre,  &  le  iour  fuiuant  de  fes 
funerailles  il  parut,  difent-ils,  fur  le  foir  tout  plein 
de  vie,  affeurant  qu'vn  certain  qu'il  ne  cognoiflolt 
pas  I'auoit  tir6  du  fepulchre,  &  luy  auoit  enfeign^  la 
fagon  d'honorer  Dieu;  il  condamne  les  prieres  &  les 
deuotions  des  Chrefliens,  auec  tant  d'attache  a  fon 
jugement,  qu'encore  qu'il  auoiie  que  le  Demon  foit 
manuals,  &  qu'il  faille  croire  en  Iesvs-Christ, 
il  le  veut  neantmoins  feruir  k  fa  mode,  traifnant  deux 
&  trois  femmes  apres  foy.  II  a  fait  foUiciter  quel- 
ques  ieunes  Chreftiens  par  fa  f oeur,  \  qui  il  a  fait  croire 
qu'elle  pouuoit  fans  crime  leur  accorder  ce  qu'ils 
fouhaiteroient  d'elle,  pourueu  qu'ils  renon9affent  k 
la  Foy  &  aux  prieres  qu'on  leur  a  enfeignees  dans 
Tadouffac,  mais  les  Anges  font  plus  puiffans  que  les 
Demons,  ces  bons  Neophytes  ont  conferue  la  puret6 
de  leurs  corps,  par  la  puret6  de  leur  creance. 

[152]  Enfin  le  Pere  eftant  fur  fon  depart,  vn  bon 
Sauuage  I'inuita  au  feftin,  luy  rendant  mille  graces, 


\\ 


il 


1650] 


RELA  TION  OF  i64q-so 


VJ9 


prove  him,— entered  the  Church  and  vigorously 
harangued  in  the  presence  of  all  the  Christians,  pro- 
testing  that,  if  he  died  before  that  time,  he  would 
charge  the  Father,  before  the  Justice  of  [151]  God, 
with  his  ruin  and  damnation. 

The  Demon,  enraged  at  seeing  snatched  from  him 
a   prey   he  had  possessed    for    so    many   ages,    has 
endeavored  to  disturb  those  good  Neophytes  by  the 
following  imposture.     A  young  man  who,  his  rela- 
tives affirmed,  was  shrouded  and  buried,  appeared, 
they  said,  in  the  evening  of  the  day  after  his  funeral, 
full  of  life,— asserting  that  a  certain  person,  whom 
he  did  not  know,  had  taken  him  from  the  tomb,  and 
had  instructed  him  in  the  way  he  should  honor  God. 
He  condemned  the  prayers  and  devotions  of  Chris- 
tians with  such  obstinate  adhesion  to  his  own  way 
of  thinking,  that  — although   he  acknowledged  the 
wickedness    of   the    Demon,    and    the    necessity   of 
believing  in  Jesus  Christ  — he  would  neverthe- 
less serve  him  after  his  own  fashion,  keeping  with 
him  two  or  three  wives.     He  induced  his  sister  to 
solicit  some  young  Christians,  by  making  her  believe 
that  she  might  without  wrong  grant  them  what  they 
might  desire  of  her,  provided  they  would  abandon 
the  Faith,  and  the  prayers  which  had  been  taught 
them  in  Tadoussac.      But  the   Angels   have   more 
power  than  the  Demons;  these  good  Neophytes  have 
preserved  the  purity  of  their  bodies  by  the  puritv  of 
their  belief.  ^ 

[152]  At  length,  when  the  Father's  departure  was 
near,  a  good  Savage  invited  him  to  a  feast,— return- 
irg  him  a  thousand  thanks,  and  bestowing  on  him  a 
thousand  benedictions  for  the  trouble  he  had  taken  in 
coming  to  visit  them  with  so  much  pains;  assuring 


> 


280 


LES  RELA  TIONS  DES  jlSUITES         [Vol.  86 


i'    / 


II  -  ■ 


&  luy  donnant  mille  benedidtions,  de  la  peine  qu'il 
auoit  prife  de  les  venir  vifiter  auec  tant  de  trauaux, 
raffeurant  qu'aufli-toft  que  I'Hyuer  feroit  palT6,  il 
meneroit  la  pi  afpart  de  fes  gons  k  Tadouffac,  pour  y 
eftre  inftruits  plus  k  loifir,  le  priant  de  nommer  en 
chaque  cabane  quelque  bon  Neophyte  des  plus  fages, 
&  des  mieux  inftruits,  pour  tenir  fa  place  en  fon 
abfence,  &  pour  luy  rendre  compte  en  fon  temps  des 
adtions  &  des  d^portemens  de  ces  nouueaux  enfans 
de  Dieu,  qui  en  verity  compofent  vne  petite  Eglife 
fort  innocente. 

Vn  braue  &  genereux  Catechumene  voulut  accom- 
pagner  le  Pere,  mais  il  le  fit  paffer  par  fon  pais,  oii 
ayant  fait  affembler  fes  compatriotes  il  demanda  le 
Baptefme  d'vne  fa^on  bien  agreable,  &  pleine  de  fer- 
ueur.  Mon  Pere,  luy  dit-il,  i'ay  autresfois  mani6  nos 
tambours,  &  ie  me  fuis  mefl6  de  fouffler  &  de  chanter 
nos  malades,  ie  renonce  en  la  prefence  de  mes  gens 
k  toutes  ces  fuperftitions,  ie  defire  d'ei^re  baptif6 
deuant  [153]  eux,  afin  qu'eftans  tefmoins  de  la  Foy 
que  ie  profeffe,  ils  foient  mes  accufateurs  fi  ie  n'obey 
^  tout  ce  que  la  Loy  de  Iesvs-Christ  me  com- 
mande,  ie  les  inuite,  &  les  conjure  de  me  reprocher 
en  ta  prefence  tout  ce  que  ie  commettray  contre  la 
profeflion  du  Chriftianifme.  Ie  defire  qu'ils  me 
veillent,  &  qu'ils  examinent  mes  adtions  pour  t'en 
f  aire  vn  fiddle  rapport,  me  foumettant  au  chaftiment 
que  tu  me  voudras  impofer,  fi  ie  contreuiens  aux  loix 
de  mon  Baptefme;  ne  faii  done  point  de  difficulte  de 
m'accorder  cette  grace,  qui  doit  non  feulement  pro- 
fiter  ^  mon  ame,  mais  qui  doit  encore  donner  lumiere 
k  la  nation  des  iitak«ami«eK,  qui  font  diftans  de  ce 
lieu  de  dix  iourn^es.     Mon  frere  iadis  Capitaine  de 


1650J 


RELA  TION  OF  1649-so 


281 


him  that,  as  soon  as  Winter  was  over,  he  would 
bring  the  greater  number  of  his  people  to  Tadoussac, 
to  be  there  instructed  more  at  leisure ;  and  beseech- 
ing him  to  name,  in  each  cabin,  some  good  Neo- 
phyte,—  one  of  the  most  discreet,  and  most  fully 
instructed, —  to  take  his  place  in  his  absence,  and  to 
render  him  an  account,  in  due  season,  of  the  actions 
and  behavior  of  these  new  children  of  God,  who,  in 
truth,  form  a  small  but  a  very  innocent  Church. 

A  worthy  and  generous  Catechumen  determined 
to  accompany  the  Father,  but  brought  him  through 
his  own  country, —  where,  when  he  had  assembled 
his  fellow-countrymen,  he  solicited  Baptism  in  a 
mianner  most  acceptable  and  full  of  fervor.  "  My 
Father,"  he  said,  "  in  former  times  I  handled  our 
drums,  and  took  part  in  blowing  upon  and  singing 
over  our  sick  people ;  I  renounce,  in  the  presence  of 
my  people,  all  these  superstitions.  I  desire  to  be 
baptized  before  [153]  them,  that,  being  witnesses  to 
the  Faith  which  I  profess,  they  may  be  my  accusers 
if  I  obey  not  all  the  commands  of  the  Law  of  J  E  s  u  s 
Christ;  and  I  invite  and  conjure  them  to  reproach 
me  before  thee  with  whatever  I  may  commit  contrary 
to  the  profession  of  Christianity.  I  desire  that  they 
watch  me,  and  examine  my  actions,  that  they  may 
make  to  thee  a  faithful  report  of  these,  submitting 
myself  to  the  chastisement  which  thou  shalt  impose 
upon  me,  should  I  transgress  the  rules  of  my  Bap- 
tism. Do  not  then  make  any  difficulty  of  according 
me  this  favor,  which  must  not  only  benefit  my  soul, 
but  enlighten  also  the  nation  of  the  Outakwamiwek, 
ten  days'  journey  hence.  My  brother,  at  one  time  a 
Captain  at  Tadoussac,  having  instructed  me  in  the 
truths  of  which  thou  hast  told  us,  I  have  given  an 


r^^ 


'1; 


S8S 


LES  RELATIONS  DES  jASUITES         [Vol.  86 


TadoulTac  m'ayant  inftruit  des  veritez,  dont  tu  nous 
a  parl<3,  i'en  ay  fait  le  recit  \  ces  peuples  qui  font 
mes  alliez.  le  les  ay  efpouuantez  par  les  peines 
d '  Enf er,  ie  les  ay  conf ol^s  par  les  delices  dont  iouy (lent 
les  Chreltiens  au  Ciel,  ie  les  ay  fait  prer  Dieu,  ils 
m'ont  tefmoign^  vn  grand  defir  d'el  2  inftruits; 
baptife-n  oy  done,  mon  Pere,  nous  les  irons  voir 
I'Eft^  prochain  tous  [154]  deux  enfemble.  II  ne 
falloit  pas  ^conduire  vn  li  bon  coeur. 


\       '/ 


[Vol..  86 

tu  nous 
ui  font 
peines 
uyffent 
ieu,  ils 
flruits ; 
IS  voir 
II  ne 


1660] 


RELA  TION  OF  1640-so 


288 


account  of  them  to  these  people,  who  are  my  allies. 
I  have  frightened  them  by  the  pains  of  Hell ;  I  have 
comforted  them  with  the  delights  which  Christians 
enjoy  in  Heaven.  I  have  made  them  pray  to  God ; 
they  have  declared  to  me  their  strong  desire  to  be 
instructed.  Baptize  me  then,  O  my  Father;  we  will 
go  to  see  them  next  Summer,  [154]  both  together." 
There  was  no  need  of  declining  to  accept  so  good  a 
heart. 


to>  ■ ir-' 


T 


I  1 


\ 


.1 


) 


pv 


BIBLIOGRAPHICAL  DATA :  VOL.  XXXV 


LXXII 

This  is  a  Latin  letter  writteu  by  Paul  Ragueneau 
to  the  father  general  (Caraffa),  dated  in  the  Huron 
country,  March  13,  1650.  The  original  rests  in  the 
domestic  archives  of  the  Society.  Here,  it  was  copied 
(probably  in  1858)  by  Father  Felix  Martin;  his  apo- 
graph  is  in  the  archives  of  St.  Mary's  College,  Mont- 
real. His  French  translation  appeared  six  years 
later  in  Carayon's  Premiere  Mission,  pp.  247-253. 
The  Latin  text  appears  for  the  first  time  in  Roche- 
raonX^i-x:^  J Imites  et  la  Nouvelle- France,  t.  ii.,  pp.  466- 
469 ;  this  we  follow,  in  our  reprint. 

Lxxni 

For  bibliographical  particulars  of  the  Journal  des 
/^suites,  see  Vol.  XXVH. 

LXXIV 

In  reprinting  the  Relation  of  1649-50  (Paris,  165 1), 
we  follow  the  text  of  the  first  edition,  but  add  the 
letter  of  Marie  de  St.  Bonaventure,  mother  superior, 
from  pp.  178  and  179  of  the  second  edition  — the 
edition  in  which  it  first  appeared.  The  "  Privilege  " 
is  dated  at  "  Paris  le  19.  Decembre  1650,"  and  the 
"  Permission"  was  "  Fait  ^  Blois  ce  huiAi^me  De- 
cembre 1650."  The  first  and  second  editions  of  this 
Relation  are  generally  referred  to  as  "  H.   95  "  and 


286 


LES  RELA  TIONS  DES  /^SUITES 


;i  > 


I- 

0 


*r 

• 

\ 

■/ 

J 

• 

"  H.  96,"  respectively,  because  they  are  described 
in  Harrisse's  Notes,  nos.  95  and  96. 

Collation  of  first  edition  i^.  95):  Title,  with  verso 
blank,  i  leaf;  "  Tabledes  Chapitres,"  pp.  (2);  prefa- 
tory epistle  from  Paul  Ragueneau  to  the  provincial, 
Claude  de  Lingendes,  pp.  i  -  3 ;  Ragueneau's  Rela- 
tion (13  chaps.),  pp.  4- 171 ;  "  Lettre  dv  P.  Hierosme 
Lallemant,  au  R.  P.  Claude  de  Lingendes,"  pp.  172- 
178;  ''  Priuilege,"  with  "  Permifsion  "  on  the  verso, 
I  leaf.  Page  63  is  misnumbered  65,  and  p.  178  is  by 
transposition  misprinted  187  Signatures:  a  in  two, 
A-  L  in  eights,  and  M  in  four,  the  last  two  leaves  being 
blank. 

The  second  edition  is  an  entire  reset.  It  varies 
not  only  in  typographical  arrangement,  but  has  also 
head-ornamf^nts  which  differ  from  those  of  the  first 
edition.  The  tail-piece  of  a  basket  with  fruit,  which 
appears  on  p.  171  of  the  first,  is  lacking  in  the  second 
edition. 

The  title  and  collation  of  the  second  edition 
(H.  96)  are  as  follows: 

Relation  |  de  ce  |  qvi  s'est  pass^  |  en  la  Miffion  des 
Peres  de  la  Com-  |  pagnie  de  lesvs,  aux  Hurons,  & 
aux  I  pais  plus  bas  de  la  Nouuelle  Fran-  |  ce,  depuis 
rEil6  de  I'ann^e  1649.  |  jufques  k  I'Eft^  de  I'ann^e 
1650.  I  Enuoy6e  av  R.  P.  Clavdede  Lingendes  |  Pro- 
uincial  de  la  Compagnie  de  lesvs,  |  en  la  Prouince  de 
France.  |  Par  le  R.  P.  Pavl  Ragveneav,  Superieur  | 
des  Miffions  de  la  Compagnie  de  lesvs  |  en  la  Nou- 
uelle France.  |  {Printer  s  ornament']  | 

A  Paris,  |  Chez  |  Sebastien  Cramoisy,  |  Imprimeur 
ordinaire   du  Roy,  |  &  de  la  Reyne  Regente.  |  Et  | 
Gabriel    Cramoisy,  |  rue   fainct  |   lacques,  |  aux   Ci- 
co-  I  gnes.  I  M.  DC.  LL  |  Avec  Privilege  dv  Roy. 


>:l 


BM 


~1 


BIBLIOGRAPHICAL  DATA:   VOL.  XXXV 


287 


Collation:  Title,  with  verso   blank,  i  leaf;  "  Table 
des     Chapitres/'  pp.    (2);     Ragueneau's     prefatory 
letter,    pp.    1-3;    Ragueneau's  Relation  (13  chaps.), 
pp.  4- 171;  Jerome  Lalemant's  letter,  pp.  172-177J 
*'  Lettre  de  la  R.  M.  |  Superieure  de  I'Hofpital  de  la 
Mifericorde  |  de    Kebec   en   la    Nouuelle    France,    k 
Mon-  I    fieur  N.   Bourgeois  de  Paris."  on  pp.    178 
and   179,   with  the  "  Priuilege  "  and  "  Permifsion  " 
on  the  verso  of  the  latter  page.     There  is  no  mispag- 
ing.      Signatures :    Two  preliminary  leaves  without 
signature  mark,  A-L  in  eights,  and  M  in  four,  the 
last  two  leaves  being  blank.     Sheet  two  of  sig.  K  is 
incorrectly  designated  as  lij. 

Copies  of  the  first  edition  have  been  sold  or  priced 
as  follows:  Squier  sale  (1876),  no.  1964,  sold  for 
$10.75;  Harrassowitz  (1882),  priced  at  250  marks; 
Barlow  (1890),  no.  1299,  sold  for  $5;  Dufossd  (1891,' 
1892,  and  1896),  priced  at  225,  175,  and  300  francs, 
respectively. 

The  second  edition  is  more  uncommon.  The 
Brinley  copy,  sold  in  1879,  no.  139,  for  $55.  Copies 
of  one  or  both  editions  are  in  the  following  libraries : 
Lenox  (both);  Harvard  (first);  Brown  (first);  Ayer 
(first);  Library  of  Parliament,  Ottawa  (first);  Public 
Library  of  Toronto  (first);  Laval  University,  Quebec 
(both);  British  Museum  (first);  and  Bibliotheque 
Nationale,  Paris  (both). 


I! 


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NOTES  TO  VOL.  XXXV 


(Figures  in  parentheses,  following  number  of  note,  refer  to  pages 

of  English  text.  J 

1  (p.  21).— For  sketch  of  Gamier,  see  vol.  viii.,  note  52-  of 
Chabanel,  vol.  xxiii.,  note  14.  Cf.  accounts  of  these  Fathers  given 
m  Relation  of  1650,  chips,  iii.-iv.,  in  present  volume. 

2  (P-  31)— Guillaume  Vignar  (Vignal).  arrived  in  Canada  in  Sep- 
tember,  1648,  as  chaplain  of  the  Ursuline  convent.  In  1658  he 
went  to  Montreal,  where  he  died.  Oct.  27,  1661.  as  a  prisoner  in  the 
bands  of  the  Iroquois. 

For  sketch  of  Teaune  Mance,  see  vol.  xxii.,  note  7. 

3  (p.  33)— This  was  Anne  Gagnier  (Gasnier),  widow  of  Jean  du 
Clement  du  Vault,  seigneur  de  Monceaux;  she  was  born  in  1614 
She  obtamed  from  the  Hundred  Associates  (Mar.  29.  1649)  a  conces- 
sion.  the  seigniory  of  Riviere  Jacques  Cartier.  The  year  from 
September.  1650.  to  September.  1651,  she  spent  in  a  visit  to  France 
and  on  August  21, 1655.  married  Jean  Bourdon  (vol.  xi.,  note  11),  then 
a  widower;  he  died  in  January,  1668,  and  she  in  June.  1698. 

4  (p.  Ai).—Fontarabie:  the  nickname  of  a  soldier,  Pierre  Legros- 
he  was  killed  by  the  Iroquois,  May  10,  1652,  with  Father  Jacques 
Buteux  (vol.  vi.,  note  5). 

5  (p.  41).— Martin  Grouvel  (Gravel),  married,  at  Quebec  (Nov.  20 
1635).  Marguerite  Auber  (Aubert);  he  was  captain  of  a  vessel 
engaged  in  the  Tadoussac  trade.  The  date  of  his  death  is  not 
known,  but  it  must  have  been  previous  to  September,  1661.  since 
at  that  time  the  second  marriage  of  his  widow  is  recorded. 

6  (p.  43)— Champlain  river,  in  the  county  of  the  same  name,  falls 
into  the  St.  Lawrence  at  the  village  of  Champlain. 

"The  good  Charles"  was  a  Christian  Indian  of  Sillery,  Charles 
Kanskatisitch,  mentioned  in  Relation  of  1649-50.  chap.  x.  (pp.  220. 
233  of  this  volume).  ^ 

7  (p.  47)— For  sketch  of  Charles  le  Gardeur  de  Tilly,  see  voL 
xxvii.,  note  5.  In  1648-49,  he  is  mentioned  as  governor  of  Three 
Rivers;  aud  he  was  twice  sent  to  Paris  as  one  of  the  deputies  of  the 
habitants  to  secure  concessions  from  the  home  government. 


290 


LES  RELA  TIONS  DES  J^SUITES 


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8  (p.  47). — This  was  Michel  le  Neuf  du  H^risson,  elder  brother 
of  Jacques  le  Neuf  de  la  Poterie  (vol.  viii.,  note  58);  he  came  to 
Canada  in  1636,  becoming  one  of  the  leading  citizens  of  Three 
Rivers,  and  in  1649  obtained  an  estate  in  the  suburbs  of  that  town. 
The  date  of  his  death  is  not  recorded. 

9  (p.  49). —  Carcan :  "an  iron  collar,  fixed  upon  a  post,  by  which 
the  person  sentenced  w  .^  fastened  thereto.  The  punishment  of  the 
carcan  was  abolished  in  1832  "  (Littr6). 

10  (p.  51). —  An  account  of  this  shipwreck  is  g^ven  at  the  close  of 
Relation  of  1649  (vol.  xxxiv.,  pp.  229-235). 

11  (p.  51). —  Fransois  Buissot  (Bissot),  sieur  de  la  Riviere, —  a 
native  of  Normandy,  born  in  1613, — is  first  mentioned  in  Canadian 
records  in  1647,  He  married  (Oct.  25,  1648)  Marie  Couillard,  by 
whom  he  had  twelve  children,  one  of  whom  became  the  wife  of  the 
explorer  Louis  Joliet.  At  the  time  of  his  marriage,  Buissot  obtained 
a  grant  of  200  arpents  in  the  seigniory  of  Lauson;  Feb.  25,  1661,  he 
became  proprietor  of  Isle  aux  CEufs,  near  Tadoussac  (in  which 
regfion  he  was,  during  several  years,  engaged  in  the  fur  trade), —  "  the 
last  concession  granted  by  the  Hundred  Associates, ' '  according  to 
Suite  {Canad.-Franqais,  t.  iv.,  p.  15);  and,  in  1672,  obtained  from 
Talon  the  fief  of  Vincennes,  county  of  Bellechasse.  He  died  in 
July,  1678. 

12  (p.  51). — Jean  Roz6e,  a  merchant  of  Rouen,  was  an  active 
member  of  the  Hundred  Associates,  and  for  a  considerable  time  one 
of  the  directors  of  that  company.  With  Antoine  ChefiFault  and 
others,  he  obtained  (early  in  1636)  a  grant  of  Orleans  Island  (vol.  v., 
note  49) ;  this  association  was  for  many  years  influential  in  Canadian 
affairs. 

Jean  Guenet,  also  a  Rouen  merchant,  was  another  of  the  Hundred 
Associates;  his  name  appears  in  connection  with  Roz^e's  as  late  as 
1652. 

13  (P*  53)' —  "This  paper  is  no  longer  in  existence "  (Queb.  ed.  of 
Journal,  p.  142,  note). 

14  (p.  53). —  Concerning  Robert  le  Coq,  see  vol.  xix.,  note  5,  and 
pp.  95-115.  See  his  "act  of  donation"  to  the  Jesuit  order,  vol. 
xxi.,  p.  305. 

15  (p.  53). — Guillaume  Gendron,  surnaraed  La  Rolandiere,  was 
bom  in  1630,  near  Nantes,  France.  A  reference  to  him  made  in  the 
Journal,  Aug.  15,  1653,  shows  that  he  came  to  Canada  at  least  as 
early  as  1642.  In  1664,  he  married  Anne  Loiseau,  by  whom  he  had 
two  daughters ;  he  appears  to  have  been  a  resident  of  Montreal  at 
this  time,  and  figures  in  the  militia  company  of  that  town.  He 
died  in  September,  1687. 


*         7 


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NOTES  TO  VOL.  XXXV 


291 


i6  (p.  55).—  For  sketch  of  Jean  Guerin.  see  vol.  xxi..  note  24.     His 
virtues  are  eulogized  in  Relation  of  1663  chap.  viii. 

17  (p.  55).— This  was  Charles  Joseph  d'Ailleboust,  sieur  de  Mus- 
seaux.  nephew  of  the  governor;  he  was  born  at  Paris,  in  1624,  and 
was  induced  by  his  uncle  to  settle  in  Canada  (1648).  He  was  in 
command  of  the  "flying  camp"  organized  in  1649  against  the 
Iroquois.  In  1651,  he  succeeded  Maisonneuve  as  governor  of  Mont- 
real.  Ennobled  in  1667,  he  held  many  important  positions  in  that 
town;  he  was  a  judge,  in  both  civil  and  crimmal  cases;  and  was, 
in  1666.  one  of  the  commanders  of  militia.  He  died  in  November,' 
1700.  His  wife  was  Catherine  le  Gardeur;  they  had  fourteen  chil- 
dren, two  of  whom  became  nuns. 

18  (p  55).— "Girard  Laval  of  Rouen,  about  twenty-five  years  old, 
a  clerk  upon  Captain  Terrien's  vessel "  (Register  of  N&tre-Dame", 
Quebec). 

19  (P-  55)— Here  Ragueneau's  handwriting  replaces  that  of  Lale- 
mant;  the  Journal  is  continued  by  the  former  until  Aug.  15,  1653. 
His  autograph  signature  is  written  at  the  beginning  of  the  para- 
graph following  this. 

20  (p.  57). —  This  is  the  only  mention  of  Regnaut  (Renant)  in 
either  Journal  or  Relations.  See  his  Recit  veritable,  in  vol.  xxxiv. 
(doc.  Ixix.). 

21  (p.  59)-— This  was  Philippine  Gertrude  de  Boulogne  (vol.  xxxii. 
note  18). 

22  (p.  61).—  "  By  this  word  ceans  must  be  understood  that  house 
loaned  by  the  Company  of  the  Hundred  Associates,  in  which  mass 
was  celebrated  after  the  fire  of  1640;  for  the  Jesuit  chaoel  was  not 
yet  finished"  (Quebec  ed.  oi  Journal,  p.  146,  tiote  3). 

23  (p.  8i).— Regarding  the  Tobacco  tribe,  see  vol.  v.,  note  18;  the 
Neutrals,  vol.  viii.,  notes  34,  41,  and  vol.  xviii.,  7iote  19. 

24  (p.  85).— See  Harris's  description  of  the  cement  made  by  the 
Jesuits  (vol.  xix.  of  this  series,  ttote  8). 

25  (p.  107).— See  Hunter's  note  on  location  of  missions  in  the 
Tobacco  tribe  (vol.  xx.,  note  6).  He  says,  in  a  recent  letter  to  the 
Editor:  "The  most  southerly  or  frontier  site  that  I  kn-^w  of,  at 
which  European  relics  have  been  found  in  any  quantity,  is  on  lot  3 
of  the  fourth  concession,  in  Nott.uvasaga  township.  This  might 
have  been  either  St.  Jean,  or  St.  Pierre  and  St.  Paul,— the  balance 
of  evidence  being  in  favor  of  the  latter." 

26  (p.  145). —  See  notice  of  the  Petit  Chatelet  in  vol.  xv.,  note  9. 
The  Pont  Neuf  was  built  across  the  Seine  to  connect  the  lie  de  la 

Cite  with  the  two  islets.   La  Gourdame  and  Aux  Treilles ;  it  was 


292 


LES  RELATIONS  DES  jRSUITES 


begun  by  Henri  III.,  in  1578,  and  finished  by  Henri  IV.,  in  1604. 
A  statue  of  the  latter  was  erected  on  the  bridge  in  161 3,  which 
remained  until  the  Revolution;  in  18 18  it  was  replaced  by  another. 
"In  the  1 6th  century,  the  Pont  Neuf  was  so  much  the  resort  of 
news-venders  and  jugglers  that  any  popular  witticism  was  described 
as  'a  Pont  Neuf.'"— See  Hist,  of  Paris  (Whittaker),  vol.  iii.,  pp. 
156-162;  and  Hare's  Walks  in  Paris,  pp.  252-256. 

27  (p.  145). —  Thiophile :  the  popular  appellation  of  Th^ophile  de 
Viau,  a  French  poet  (1590- 1626), —  noted  for  his  brilliant  wit  and 
biting  satire,  but  equally  for  the  profane  and  licentious  tone  of  his 
verse.  So  far  did  this  go  that  in  1623  he  was  condemned  to  be 
burned  at  the  stake;  finally  (1625),  this  sentence  was  commuted  to 
one  of  perpetual  exile ;  but  his  patron,  the  duke  de  Montmorency, 
afterward  obtained  permission  for  him  to  remain  in  Paris.  Thio- 
phile died  Sept.  25,  1626. 

28  (p.  175). — This  was  probably  the  tripe  de  roche  {Umbilicariu 
Dillenii,  Tuck.),  one  of  the  edible  species  of  lichen,  growing  upon 
rocks  m  Canada.  It  is  often  mentioned  by  early  explorers.  Perrot 
(Tailhan's  ed.,  p.  52)  describes  it  as  "  a  sort  of  gray  moss,  dry,  which 
has  no  flavor  of  its  own,  tasting  only  of  the  soil,  and  of  the  soup  in 
which  it  is  cooked;  without  it,  most  of  the  families  would  die  with 
hunger."  Father  Andre  {Relation  of  1671,  chap,  ii.)  says  of  it:  "  It 
is  necessary  to  close  one's  eyes  when  one  begins  to  eat  it."  Char- 
levoix {Journ.  Hist.,  p.  332)  mentions  it  in  similar  terms. 

29  (p.  213). —  Referenceisheremade  to  "the  Flemish  Bastard,"  so 
called, —  the  son  of  a  Dutchman  and  a  Mohawk  woman ;  his  mother's 
tribe  chose  him  as  one  of  its  chiefs.  He  was  long  a  prominent  figure 
in  the  hostilities  waged  by  the  Iroquois  against  the  French  and 
Algonkins.  In  1666,  he  came  to  Quebec  to  negotiate  for  peace; 
this  was  accomplished,  for  the  time,  but  was  soon  broken ;  and  Tracy 
and  Courcelles  led  an  expedition  against  the  Mohawks,  which  laid 
their  country  waste.  Overwhelmed  by  this  blow,  they  sent  the 
Flemish  Bastard  to  Quebec  to  sue  for  peace,  which  was  then  estab- 
lished. The  Bastard,  with  many  of  his  tribesmen,  even  removed 
their  families  and  abodes  to  Canada,  and  settled  near  Montreal. — 
See  Perrot  (Tailhan's  ed.),  pp.  111-114,  228. 

30  (p.  223). —  Cf.  thf  description  of  this  incident  g\ven  in  Journ. 
des  Jisuites  (p.  49  of  this  volume). 


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